Only Forever
by Morgana Deryn
Summary: Josie Ealum was a scientist... or she was trying to be. It wasn't going well either until Dr. Erskine appeared with his proposal. She took it, expecting formulas and test tubes. What she got was friendship with the genius of the time and rescue missions with a war hero. Most importantly, she got Bucky Barnes. 'Only Forever... that's puttin' it mild.' BuckyXOC
1. Prologue

Job Offer

I could have cheerfully smacked myself as I hustled up College Street, my book bag thrown over her shoulder. This was what I got for trying to have a nice, peaceful lunch in Fountain Square instead of eating on campus. In my defense though, I did have to go to the square to get my mother's pocket watch back from Morris Jewelry.

The watch was apparently supposed to be a gift for my 21st birthday. Here I was at age 23 and just now getting it. Apparently my father had put it up and completely forgotten about it. My grandmother found it in his chifferrobe when she was cleaned and proceeded to whack him around the head with her cane for forgetting.

That was my dad though – ask him to remember something important and he'd forget it immediately. Tell him something that didn't matter and twenty years later he'd be able to recite what you said word for word. He wasn't so good at holidays – they snuck up on him – but he was always good at remembering little things, and he always did something about it. I remembered vividly being inches away from crying one day only for my dad to show up with flowers because it was the anniversary of the first day I rode a horse.

I smiled down at the watch settled in the pocket of my blazer, the chain draping across the front of my waist. My eyes flicked from the bouncing chain and down to my bag, where the top of a brown paper bag of snickerdoodles – now probably more than a little bit squished –could be seen. I hadn't even gotten to try one, I thought mournfully. I ended up too absorbed in the book I was reading and completely forgot that Carol had made the cookies.

It paid to be friends with the home ec majors.

I could see Cherry Hall on the hill above me. Not for the first time, I cursed whoever had the bright idea to put the school on top of the highest hill in town. As I hurried I could hear the chimes start to play in the bell tower. It was the longer chime, meaning an hour mark. I winced. I was officially late for class. At this rate, I was going to be at least five minutes late. I could already see the disdainful looked I'd get when I tried to slide into the laboratory late.

I was one of only a handful of women who were part of the Ogden College. Most women on campus were looking for degrees in music, art, French, elementary education, home ec, things like that. Most of the girls looking for science degrees were in biology, learning just enough to teach a high school class. The male bio majors didn't mind us so much. They even liked us some, because we'd all proved we had strong enough stomachs to cut open and dissect dead animals.

I was pursuing a double major. Mutation was my area of expertise in biology and I was the only girl in the chem department. I was also the only girl gunning for a doctorate. The chem boys were less pleased to have me than the bio boys. They were always convinced I was going to set the place on fire with a Bunsen burner or drag my hair through some sulfuric acid.

I hurried up the couple of steps to Cherry Hall and into the building. Aside from a few people lingering in the foyer, everyone else was safely in their classrooms. I got a couple of funny looks as I came hurrying in and started down the hall towards the stairs. If I rushed, then it was dimly possible the professor would still be working on roll. I'd be counted absent for the day – my last name was Ealum – but I'd there for the lesson.

"Miss Ealum? Miss Josephine Ealum?"

I turned around in surprise. The only time I got called Josephine was when I'd done something wrong. Everyone who knew me knew that it was Josie.

"It's Josie," I corrected automatically before I'd even figured out who was speaking. A man stepped forward. He looked like one of the professors in his fedora and tweed jacket, carrying a briefcase with a file tucked under his arm. He had round glasses with brassy frame and the three-day scruff that wasn't uncommon among the science majors close to finals time.

"My name is Dr. Abraham Erskine," the man said in a thick German accent, stepping forward and offering me his free hand. I took it and shook firmly.

"It's wonderful to meet you, sir," I said quickly, glancing over my shoulder toward the stairs. "I hate to meet and run, but I need to-"

"Your chemistry class," Dr. Erskine nodded in understanding. I turned back around, looking at him uncertainly.

"How do you-?"

He pulled the file out from under his arm and held it up. Printed in neat handwriting along the edge was Ealum, Josephine Q. It was my file.

"How did you get that?" I asked blankly. "Why do you have that? Who are you?"

"All interesting questions, but perhaps not a conversation for the middle of a hallway," Dr. Erskine suggested. He stepped aside and gestured back towards the entrance. I could only assume he meant to head for the steps outside.

Chemistry class all but forgotten, I allowed Dr. Erskine to guide me back down the hall with a hand on my back. As we walked, he talked.

"I have recently become aware of some of the papers you have written," he explained. "Fascinating things really, particularly your theories on human mutation. That's your primary focus, correct?"

I nodded, flushing slightly. This was the first time someone who might actually understand me work had complimented it. My teachers mostly just called my writings 'radical' and 'unrealistic.' I couldn't blame them on that one, really.

"They're just theories," I said as we stepped outside. A pleasant, cooling breeze was blowing now, a relief after my mad sprint up the hill. I sat down on the top step and crossed my ankles, pulling my bag off my shoulder and setting it beside me.

"They are very good theories," Dr. Erskine encouraged, sitting down next to me with a soft groan, and I blushed again.

"Are you a geneticist?" I asked him curiously. He shook his head.

"A chemist by study, but I've picked up a bit of everything over the years. Enough to know from what you've written that you don't need to take that chemistry class you were so eager to get to," he said knowingly.

I couldn't fight him on that one. I had taken early every chemistry class the college offered, but they were still holding me back from getting my Ph.D., throwing more requirements at me. At this point, I probably could have taught the class I was about to walk into, but I kept my head down and my mouth shut and did my work so no one had anything to say against me.

I just shrugged and repeated a common phrase on campus. "It's a required course," I recited dully. That was the answer to a lot of questions I was asked. The home economics girls wanted to know why I was taking a class where I had to cut open frogs and rats. _It's a required course._ The French majors were asking why I was messing around in a class where everything was done in a test tube. _It's a required course._

"It's an interesting focus you've chosen," Dr. Erskine continued. "Human mutation… Not many people are willing to touch on the subject. Most people say it's playing god." His voice was leading. He wanted my opinion on the subject. While to an extent that was true, that wasn't why I'd picked human mutation to focus on.

"That's true," I granted him. "But I don't think of it like that. I think of it like… what if someone who was born with a heart defect could be fixed without the risks of surgery? What if someone who was born with a mental condition could be fixed? And even the average person, what if they could be made stronger, more resistant to certain diseases? It's not about changing humanity just for the sake of it, it's about making it better."

Dr. Erskine observed me. I didn't look at him, just stared down the hill I'd just hurried up and wondered who this man sitting next to me was, why he was here.

"It's interesting," he mused, "that you're talking about practical applications. Most people don't even think of that sort of thing as possible."

"Anything's possible," I disagreed. "Besides, what's the point of the sciences if there's no application done with what we know?"

"I agree," Dr. Erskine said, smiling. He leaned closer to me. "What would you say if I told you that you didn't have to take that chemistry class to get your doctorate? That you didn't have to take any more classes?"

I turned to look at him in disbelief. Unable to help myself, I doubled over laughing. Dr. Erskine nodded.

"I can offer you this." His tone was dead serious. I stopped laughing abruptly, looking at him with a lot more respect.

"How?" I asked suspiciously.

"I represent the SSR. Have you heard of it?"

"The Strategic Scientific Reserve," I replied immediately.

"Exactly. I am heading up a project that could turn the tide of this horrible war. We have been combing the country looking for some of the best lab workers. I came across your papers and was intrigued. Some of what you've theorized is incorporated into our project."

"And what's your project?" I asked curiously. "And how does this get me a degree?"

"When the project is completed, you would receive your doctorate as compensation," Erskine explained. "As for the project…" He hesitated. "I cannot say much. It is being called Operation: Rebirth." This was followed by a snort, like he thought the code name was ridiculous. I agreed. I had no idea the SSR was so dramatic with their naming.

"And if I come and help you with your project," I repeated slowly, "then you can guarantee my doctorate?"

"No more attending classes that you could teach," Erskine confirmed. "Are you interested? You could help end this war," he stressed. "Help bring your father home."

My father was a lieutenant colonel. They were going to send him overseas to Greece as an attaché at the US Embassy there. Currently, he was at the Army language school learning to speak Greek. I was learning right along with him. I'd gotten all the textbooks and we wrote each other about the newest thing we'd figured out.

My father was treating it like some big bonding exercise now, but I knew things would be different once he was over there. Letters would dwindle from once a week to once a month. The stories would no longer be about some classmate of his that kept slipping from Greek into the German he was already fluent in during the middle of an oral report. They would be about politics and battles and bloodshed.

"I want to help," I said firmly. Dr. Erskine smiled.

"Excellent. No materials can be taken off site," he apologized, "so I can't give you anything to prepare." He pulled his briefcase onto his lap and flipped it open. Reaching inside, he drew out a notebook and pen, scribbling something out.

He ripped the page out and passed it to me. Camp Lehigh was scrawled out, along with an address.

"I will inform the school that the SSR is taking you," Erskine assured me. "Just be at that address in two weeks."

I nodded, staring at the paper that could very well be the key to my future. Me, a doctor, finally able to work in a real lab, to test some of the theories that I'd only been able to write about so far. My eyes blazed with determination as I tucked the paper into my bag.

"I'll be there," I promised, standing up and offering Erskine a hand. He took it gratefully and I helped him to his feet.

"Then I shall see you in two weeks, Miss Ealum."

"Josie."

"Josie," Dr. Erskine agreed warmly ,and started down the stairs.

"Oh, Dr. Erskine, before you go!" I called after him, rummaging in my bag. He paused and turned around.

"Yes?"

I offered him a brown paper bag. "Snickerdoodle?"


	2. First Day

**Thanks to Guest revieer for giving me some advice on the German. I know the basics of how French and Spanish work but as far as German... yeah, I got nothing. I've tried to fix what you pointed out and hopefully it's more correct now!**

* * *

First Day

Camp Lehigh was primarily a training camp for new recruits. New recruits who were, of course, all male. And these males hadn't seen so much as a stocking in over a month. Needless to say, I was welcomed with open arms.

"Hey doll, give us a twirl!"

"It's hot out here, why don't you take off some of those layers?"

"Want to come in and have a chat, doll face?"

I had never wished to be hated more. I sucked in my cheeks in annoyance, running my fingertips over the folder in my right hand and tightening my grip on the briefcase in my left to keep from turning around and slapping the men calling out behind me. That wouldn't be the best way to start my new job.

"I'm not seeing anything in this file that makes me think this girl is as special as you claim," Colonel Phillips said shortly, flicking his way pointedly through the file he and the SSR had accumulated on me.

Dr. Erskine huffed in annoyance as I followed them through the camp to the lab. "She is one of the top students in her class and her area of expertise is human mutation. Do you read the reports I send you? What do you think we're doing in the lab, making strudel?"

"Don't gat snappy with me, doc," Phillips said shortly. " _I'm_ the one busting my butt in Washington getting you money for your project."

"Hey, look what we have here!"

"Come out here and look what just walked into the camp!"

"Oi sweets, wanna come by later?"

"Ice cold, ice cold," I hissed to myself under my breath, remembering my great-grandmother Nevade's advice.

" _When it comes to business, don't give anything away. Be ice cold, like a glacier. You don't give anything away, they don't have anything to use against you."_

 _I_ assumed the same general thinking could be applied to perverts. I didn't have much experience. We lived out in the middle of nowhere, just me, my grandmother, my dad, and my step-mother. Before I ever started school, the only time I really saw anyone outside of my family was when we went into town for something.

"I'm saying I'm not going to be responsible for some little girl!" Colonel Phillips ranted.

"She is not the youngest assistant I have hired!" Erskine protested. He turned around so fast I stumbled in an effort not to smack into him. I blinked, my nose assaulted with the doctor's scent of chemicals and disinfectant.

"Miss Ealum, please make your way to the lab. The colonel and I have things to discuss," he said, slanting his eyes at the colonel in annoyance. He took me by the arm and pointed. "Go that way and make a left at the barracks. You'll see the lab at the end of the path. Ask for Dr. Worth, he'll show you where you're supposed to be."

"Alright sir," I said, strengthening my grip on the files. Dr. Erskine gave me a knowing look.

"You may call me Abraham, Josie."

I nodded again and took off in the direction he'd indicated while Erskine and Phillips went off down a small side path. I assumed they were headed to Phillips' office to yell about me some more. I shouldn't have been surprised, really, by the fact that the colonel was skeptical of my abilities. It was hardly a new thing. But, for whatever reason, I'd assumed that since I was hired the SSR was a bit more progressive.

"Well would you look at that?"

"Come out here and look at this dame!"

"Whoo, you lost sweetheart?"

I was apparently very, very wrong. _Ice cold, ice cold…_

I reached the barracks and turned left, frowning when I found an entire row of bunkhouses lining the path I had to follow. I could see the lab at the end of the path, a long, low, bunker-like building that looked brand new. But between it and me was a road lined with recruits, many of whom had already seen me and were looking at me like a piece of meat.

It made my skin crawl and I had to force the sensation down. Gripping the folder even tighter I lifted my head and tossed my head. My brown hair was pulled up into a strict bun for the sake of lab safety and I was wearing a navy suit with my mother's pocket watch. I was a bit over dressed for the camp, but _presentation_ was something my step-mother had hammered into me.

"Ice cold," I mumbled to myself before starting the long walk down the gravel path, the lab looming ahead of me. The same kind of comments I'd been hearing for the past hour came from all side. I carefully blanked my face – another skill from my step-mother – and kept walking with my chin held high.

I saw the movement coming before the hand even connected with my rear. I twitched my wrist, my briefcase swinging back to cover my bottom. The soldier's hand connected with the case with a hand smack. He recoiled in surprise and I kept walking with a faint smirk on my face.

I ducked into the lab and salvation. My eyes widened as I stared around.

It was a paradise for someone like me. The left and right walls were lined with private cubicles outfitted with desks and chalkboard for all the corkers. In the center of the room was a mass of lab equipment, tables, chemicals, and a couple of standing chalkboards. I could see a clean room in the back along with a private office that probably belonged to Erskine. Techs and assistants scuttled around like lab-coated ants, noses buried in files and formulas.

I approached the closest person, a tall, skinny man with thin-framed glasses and a mop of sandy hair. He smelled like ink and sweat. I wrinkled my nose at the scent.

"Beg pardon?" I said, tucking the file under my arm and holding briefcase in front of my thighs with both hands. The man looked up, blinking in surprise as he saw me. Then a wide, sly smile spread across his face.

"Well hello there." He was attempting a seductive purr, I think. It came out nasally. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for a Dr. Worth," I explained politely. "Could you direct me to him?"

The man's smile widened and he stood, tossing aside his notes onto his desk. "As it happens, you've already found him. Doctor Jeffrey Worth," he said smugly, sticking out his hand. "I'm a chemist on this project." He bragged. "What did you want me for?"

"Dr. Erskine told me you'd show me where I should be," I explained, taking his hand and shaking. His palm was sweaty and sticky. "My name is Josephine Ealum."

His face fell faster than a gun could fire. "You're J. Ealum?" he said incredulously, turning up his nose at me and tugging his hand away. Normally I'd be offended, but if it got him to stop trying to flirt with me…

"You're the new lab assistant, the one Dr. Erskine was so excited about?" he continued in disbelief, drawing several eyes to us. A brown-haired man with a build to Worth's came over, pushing up the safety glasses that covered his eyes.

"Jeff, what's going on?" he asked in confusion, displaying a prominent Boston accent. He nodded to me. "Did Erskine hire a secretary?"

I opened my mouth to pretest but Worth but me off. "No. This, if you can believe it, is supposed to be our new lab assistant." He gestured to be disdainfully, making it clear what he thought about my being there.

"Josephine Ealum," I said, politely offering my hand to the new arrival. He sneered.

"A _Southern_ girl."

My jaw clenched hard and I balled up my hand into a fist, dropping it to my side. My nails pierced into my palm, drawing blood, and I mentally cursed.

"Dr. Erskine said that you would show me where I'm meant to be," I repeated coolly, keeping my face blank.

"Certainly," the brunette scoffed. He pointed to the door. "Go that way, turn right at the barracks, and follow the road down to the mess hall. They always need help cooking dinner."

"Thank you for directing me to the mess," I replied. "But I've already eaten today. I believe Dr. Erskine meant where I belong _here."_

Worth piled onto the joke eagerly, pointing to a thin door in one corner. "That's where we keep the cleaning supplies."

"I shall keep that in mind in case I have to clean up after one of you," I replied. I might as well have been spitting snowflakes, my voice was so cold. Worth's eyes widened disbelief and his friend from Boston spluttered.

"Now listen here-!"

The door opened behind me. I turned and saw Dr. Erskine enter the lab, looking weary but victorious. He smiled when he saw me.

"Ah Josie!" he called in greeting. His eyes flicked past me to Worth and Boston. "I see you've met Drs. Worth and Campbell. Good, good. Dr. Worth, would you mind fetching Josie a copy of my original notes. The translations," he added.

"I speak German," I jumped in before Worth could leave, an ugly scowl on his face. Erskine's eyes lit happily.

"Do you? Wo haben Sie lernen?" he asked eagerly.

"Meine Oma war Deutsch. Sie starb vor vielen jahern, aber Sie hat mich gelehrt," I replied.

"Sehr gut, that makes this easier. You won't need the translations." Erskine nodded in satisfaction. His eyes flicked to Worth. "Worth," he said slowly. "The notes."

"Right," Worth said around gritted teeth and moved off.

"Let me show you to your desk," Erskine said, offering me his arm. I took it and he guided me down the line of desks to the left of the door to a cubicle towards the back. This one was completely empty of anything personal except for a lab coat hanging on a hook by the chalkboard.

"This will be your desk," Erskine explained, gesturing for me to step inside. I did so, setting down the file he'd greeted me with – a debriefing on Operation: Rebirth – and my briefcase. I flipped up the latches and quickly pulled out a small picture frame, setting it on one corner of my desk.

"Is that alright?" I confirmed with Erskine. I'd seen a couple of personal items in the cubicles we'd passed but I didn't know if the rules varied between assistants and actual doctors.

'That's perfectly fine," Erskine assured me. He nodded to the photograph. "Your family? Is that your grandmother?"

I looked back at the picture. It was of my father and Granny Nevade sitting with me on the bench swing that hung in the huge oak tree in our backyard. In the distance, you could vaguely see the plantation manor where we lived. My dad had his arm around my shoulders and my head was on his. Granny Nevade was sitting sideways, her legs tossed over our laps and her cane resting across her knees. Her head was thrown back and she was laughing. I loved this picture. We were all happy, we were all smiling, and my stepmother was nowhere to be seen.

"My great-grandmother," I corrected. "Nevade."

"I'm sure they're both very proud of you," Erskine said as I shut my briefcase and set it next to the desk. Worth made his sour-faced appearance then. He shoved a handful of papers at me with a blunt "Here" and then stalked away.

Erskine watched him go, looking a little taken aback. "He'll warm up to you," he assured me. I nodded, but privately I doubted that quite a bit. "I'll leave you to get acquainted with the project," Erskine said, nodding to the file on my desk. He moved off to a cluster of frazzled-looking young men.

I sat down and reached for the file, flipping it open and scanning through it. Within seconds I was hooked, my heart beating fast with the realization of what the project was. Super soldiers, the Army wanted super soldiers, and Erskine – who had been held captive by some Nazi science division called HYDRA – thought he had the answer. Our goal was to turn an average man into the strongest, fastest, best version of himself he could reasonably be.

By all normal estimation the feat was completely impossible.

I couldn't wait to get started.

* * *

 **This story will be peppered with various different languages. French, German, a little Spanish and some Japanese later. I'll try to put a little dictionary at the bottom of each chapter where that happens if it's not explained in the story. Let me know if I miss anything. Or, better yet, if you speak the language, feel free to let me know how horribly wrong I got something. I'm relying on Google translate for most things, so I'm sure it's gonna happen.**

 **Wo haben Sie lernen? – Where did you learn?**

 **Meine Oma war Deutsch - My grandmother was German.**

 **Sie starb vor vielen jahern, aber sie hat mich gelehrt – She died many years ago but she taught me.**

 **Sehr gut – very good**


	3. Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes

Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes

I was sharing a bunkhouse with the only other woman on base – Agent Peggy Carter. My trunk had been delivered while I was at the lab. Now, my day finished, I was busying myself with unpacking.

The place was sparse, just a pair of twin beds, each with a footlocker, and a desk for each of us. There was an attached bathroom with a sink, shower, and toilet. It did amuse me though to see that the shutters had been _nailed down_ to prevent someone outside from looking in. Aside from that, the room was pretty much empty. I'd moved my clothes into my footlocker, shoved my trunk under my bed and out of the way, arranged the desk the way I liked it, and now I was sitting on my bed in my stocking feet, waiting anxiously for the arrival of my roommate.

I didn't know what to expect from _Agent Peggy Carter._ I knew nothing about her other than that she was British and was overseeing the training of the recruits. I had no idea what she'd be like. My mind was conjuring up images of a bear of a woman with a voice like a drill sergeant barking at me to straighten up my side of the room. I shuddered at the mental image and tried to focus on my book.

It was no use. I'd never had a roommate. There were about eight extra bedrooms in the house I grew up in, so even when my uncle and his three children came to visit we never had to share. At school I lived alone at Cherryton, a collection of cottages available slightly off campuses for students to rent and live in during the semester.

I was pleasantly surprised when a tall, uniformed woman walked in, brown hair in victory curls and lips smeared bright red. She blinked, looking mildly surprised when she saw me sitting on the edge of my bed.

"You must be Josephine Ealum," she said slowly, nodding to herself. I nodded and stood, setting my book aside and approaching her.

"Call me Josie," I said, offering my hand. She took it and shook.

"Agent Peggy Carter," she introduced herself, looking around and noticing the small signs that I'd moved in – the rumbled bed sheets where I'd been sitting and the spray of papers of the second desk. "You're Erskine's new lab assistant."

I nodded and stepped aside to let her come more fully into the room. "That's right," I said, moving back to my bed and sitting down again.

"You're the one who was interested in human mutation?" she pressed. I nodded again. "Well, I have to say I'm surprised he hired you. Surprised, but… pleased."

I winced. "I know I don't have a doctorate."

"Oh it's not that," Peggy assured me, moving to her desk and sitting down in the chair. She bent over and began to unlace her shoes, pulling them off and setting them aside. "Plenty of Erskine's assistants are graduate students. I know firsthand that this place isn't exactly welcoming to women. That's why I'm pleased you're here." She smiled slightly. "I'm not the only woman anymore."

"I'm relieved as well," I admitted. "Walking through the camp…" I shuddered dramatically. "I was worried I'd never get a break."

"They won't stop," Peggy warned me. "But they will tone it down once the newness had worn off."

"That's something I suppose," I sighed, disappointed. I supposed it had been too much to hope that they would stop entirely.

"Have you found all of the buildings alright?" Peggy asked politely, crossing her legs and reaching up to undo her tie. I snorted at that.

"Oh yes, Dr. Campbell was _kind_ enough to direct me to the mess hall the moment I explained why I was there," I cooed sarcastically. Peggy smiled slightly at that.

"I hope you didn't let him get away with that."

"I informed him I'd already eaten and I needed to know where I was supposed to be in the lab."

"I'm guessing he didn't like that?" Peggy looked amused by my story. I guessed she'd met Campbell before. He probably had just as big a problem with her as he did with me, if not more.

"No, his friend Dr. Worth pointed me in the direction of the cleaning supplies."

"And?" Peggy pressed.

"I told him I was glad to know, in case I had to clean up after the pair of them in the future."

Peggy chuckled at that. "You'll do fine," she said confidently. "I was worried they'd send some little girl who'd be too distracted by the soldiers."

I shook my head. "They haven't exactly made the best first impression."

"I wouldn't hold out hope for their third or fourth impressions either."

* * *

Aside from Worth and Campbell, most people didn't seem to have a problem with me being in the lab. They knew Erskine brought me there, so there was obviously a reason. They weren't fighting me for the professor's attention, so as long as I didn't get in their way or make a mess of things, they didn't care.

I quickly realized that the scientists tended to stick somewhat within their coworkers. For example, the chemists spent most of their time in one area and the biologists elsewhere. I, as a chemist and genetics specialist, bopped randomly between the two groups. I also spent time with our medical advisor, one Dr. Lionel Williams.

He was an older, balding man in his fifties. He was in the cavalry in the last war until his horse went down, crushing his right leg. He recovered, but he had a heavy limp. He'd returned home and gone to school, getting his medical degree. He was one of the few who were downright friendly to me, taking me aside to introduce himself properly and welcome me to the team.

We weren't allowed to take anything out of the lab without clearance Erskine's clearance, and only then it was to take things to the lab in Brooklyn where the experiment would be performed on the first human test subject. That was a long way away though. For now, the lab was still being built under the direct supervision of – and this blew me away – Howard Stark.

For my lunch break, I gathered up my own research and headed to the mess, grabbing a sandwich and a cup of water before heading out to a young tree that stood not too far from the trail where the recruits did their running. I sat down and spread my papers around me, pinning them down with small twigs and rocks. Satisfied, I sat down against the tree with my sandwich in one hand, a pen in the other, and a notebook in my lap, and began to work.

Barely ten minutes later, I heard footsteps on grass. I inhaled deeply and smelled a scent that made my head spin dizzily. Petrichor and something electric – it was delicious. My mouth was watering as a shadow fell over the papers.

"Is this a private picnic or can anyone join?"

I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sun with my palm. Standing over me was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair, a strong jaw, and the most gorgeous pair of ocean blue eyes I'd ever seen. He wore cargo pants and a white undershirt, his Kelly green standard-issue button-front hanging open. His dog tags dangled in front of his chest.

"You're Erskine's new girl, right?" he asked again. I nodded slowly. He flashed me a smile that was about one half grin and one half smirk. "Thought so. You threw the guys into a tailspin, walking in like you did."

I raised an eyebrow and asked slowly, "And how did I walk in?"

This was the first conversation I'd ever had with a soldier. Most of them were content to shout bad lines at my back as I walked past. Those who actually tried to talk to me I was usually able to avoid.

"Well, we weren't expecting a dame like you to just stroll down the lane," the man said pointedly. "These guys haven't seen a girl in months and then a lady as pretty as you walks in?" He shook his head. "They could be a bit nicer about it, I'll grant them. I heard what you did to Chuck to keep his hands off of you." He chuckled.

This soldier… wasn't hitting on me. Arrogant as it sounded, I was surprised. Or rather, he was – I thought? – but he wasn't being so crass about it. Unless he was just genuinely being friendly? I had no idea. My lack of experience with men meant that talking to them was pretty much uncharted water for me. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. How did you know if a guy was being just being nice or if he was flirting?

Years of etiquette lessons kicked in, saving me from embarrassment. Instinctively I reached out and offered him my hand. "My name is Josephine Ealum," I said automatically. He took my hand. His own was large and warm, almost wrapping all the way around my own. Unlike Worth, his palm wasn't sweaty.

"James Buchanan Barnes," he introduced himself, giving my hand a firm shake. He didn't hold it like it might break, he just shook it. "You can call me Bucky."

I smiled slightly. "You can call me Josie."

He smiled, and this time it really was more smile than smirk. "So where're you from, Josie Ealum?"

I tilted my head, remembering Campbell's sneer. A _Southern_ girl, he'd said, like it was something to be ashamed of. I knew the stereotype of Southerners as uneducated hick, and I was suspicious. Was he trying to turn this around? Was he going to make fun of me?

"Why d'you ask?"

"Well, I've just never heard anyone who sounds quite like you," Bucky said with a shrug. "You don't exactly sound like the girls back in Brooklyn."

I filed that away – he was from Brooklyn. And he seemed genuine, I couldn't see any hint of deceit on him. He really was just curious. "I'm from Kentucky. Garfield."

"I'm going to nod like I know where that is." Bucky nodded his head melodramatically. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Garfield was a tiny blink-and-you-miss it town. Sometimes I thought it only existed so that the farms in the area could technically belong in a town.

"There're about five hundred people there," I explained. "I'm not surprised."

Bucky's eyes widened comically. "Wow. Little different from Brooklyn, I'm guessing?"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't know, I've never been."

Bucky whistled low, shaking his head. "Now that's just heartbreaking. But what brings a girl from a tiny town in Kentucky out to this dump?"

I shrugged. "I wanted a doctorate. Dr. Erskine said I could get one in exchange for working on the project instead of sitting through more classes."

Bucky's eyes widened. I scowled slightly. He'd probably assumed I was a secretary or just there to fetch the coffee or something.

"A doctor?" He whistled again, this time looking impressed. I was a little mollified. "Doctor of what?"

"Biology and chemistry, with a focus in human mutation," I rattled off. Bucky made a face.

"Human mutation? What like… like extra eyes and stuff?"

I shook my head, laughing genuinely. I gestured to the papers scattered around me in amusement. "See for yourself," I offered. Bucky reached out and lifted the stone off the nearest piece of paper, picking it up. I saw him start to read and watched his eyes get bigger and bigger.

"These are not real words," he said in disbelief. "MC1R, OCA2… What _is_ this?" he asked, looking at the paper blankly.

I chuckled. "It's a gene map. MC1R is the gene known for giving people red hair. It's actually a mutation that's become common, which is called a polymorph."

"Polymorph," Bucky repeated slowly. He smiled slightly. "That's kind of crazy to think about. Tell me something else I don't know," he requested, smiling at me.

I grinned. I had the perfect thing. The first thing I did when I looked at a person was scan their face, their coloring, looking for mutations. Redheads, eye colors, cleft chins, and freckles leapt out, but you had to look closer to see things like double eyelashes or ask to find out whether or not they had wisdom teeth.

"Would it interest you to know that you are a mutant?" I asked him slyly.

Bucky blinked. "Come again?"

I nodded, smiling. "Blue eyes are a mutation. The mutation occurred millions of years ago and since then it's spread all over, but blue eyes started out as a mutation. It's become a polymorph," I explained eagerly. Someone was listening when I talked instead of just spacing out or nodding and saying 'That's nice Josie.'

"Does that mean you're a mutant too?" Bucky asked, gesturing to my own grey eyes.

My heart pounded slightly as I nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Huh." Bucky settled for a second, digesting that fact. Then he looked up at me and gave me a brilliant beam. "Well, if you don't mind me saying, that's a pretty mutation you have."

I smiled, blushing slightly, before shyly admitting, "You too."


	4. Drinks

Drinks

I nearly ran headlong into someone as I entered the lab. I recoiled, but the person in front of me jerked in surprise, sending two files skidding off the pile in their hands and onto the floor with a plop.

"Damn it," cursed Dr. Worth. He looked up and narrowed his eyes at me. "Oh. It's _you._ "

"It is," I replied icily, blinking dispassionately. "May I help you with that, Dr. Worth?" I asked politely.

"No, I don't want you messing it up!" he snapped, and knelt down to begin gathering up the papers. I saw no way I could possibly mess up a file by helping him gather it up, but I decided not to inflict my presence on Worth any longer. I stepped over a couple of his papers and headed for my desk. My lab coat was waiting for me, thrown over the desk chair, and I tugged it back on, feeling my mind flick into science mode as I did.

I sat down, staring at my chalkboard. The main problem that I was finding in the serum was that it should do what it was supposed to, which was increase the strength and resilience of a human body. Unfortunately, the human body wasn't ready for that kind of thing. The serum would force the body to replicate bone and muscle and flesh, but the body couldn't keep up with the demands. Essentially, the person would burn through the energy in their body and die before completing the transformation.

I bit my lip, observing the percentages and formulae scrawled across my chalkboard, waiting for something to leap out at me, something I could sink my teeth into.

"Josie."

I looked up and saw Erskine standing by my desk. He was looking tired. His face seemed more lined than usual, and the frames of his glasses didn't quite hide the dark circles under his eyes.

"Abraham," I greeted, frowning slightly. "Are you alright? You look like you didn't have a very good night's sleep last night," I said pointedly.

"It is hard to have a good night's sleep when one does not sleep," Erskine replied drily, but even his wit was lacking its usual punch.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him worriedly. I liked Erskine, I didn't like to think about him getting sick. On top of that, if he was ill, the project would grind to a halt. He was the lynchpin that kept the whole thing going. "Should you see Doc?"

Doctor Williams limped past, cane clicking, his nose buried in a chart as he did so. "Already tried, he won't let me look at him," he muttered as he passed, shooting Erskine a less-than-pleased look.

Erskine waved off our concerns. "Just a lot on my mind. It seems the moment I lay down is the moment it decides it's a good time to solve the world's problems."

I nodded sympathetically. "Well, if you need anything, let me know," I offered.

"I will," Erskine assured me before moving off to confer with one of the chemists who was currently looking like he would very much like to set his own chalkboard on fire. I smiled slightly as I turned back to my chalkboard. I hadn't quite reached that level of frustration yet.

* * *

Like the day before, I took my lunch out to that tree by the trail and settled myself in. Instead of bringing papers with me, I had a thick German dictionary with me to refresh my memory. It had been a while since I'd spoken German regularly. Erskine seemed content to hold conversations with me in the language. I couldn't blame him – I imagined if I went somewhere else I'd start to miss English after a while.

I was absently knotting and unknotting my fingers around clumps of grass when I heard the sound of footsteps. I inhaled and recognized the scent - Bucky was back. I smiled slightly as his shadow fell over me like it had the day before.

"Come here often?" he asked cheesily as he sat down. I nodded and looked around. We were a decent-enough distance away from the camp that you couldn't hear the bustle. The trail was lined with trees, brush, and small plants. It was familiar and comforting to me.

"I like looking at the trees," I explained somewhat sheepishly. Bucky looked over his shoulder.

"See, they put me off a little," he admitted. "I'm used to being surrounded by buildings, not trees. I keep feeling like something's going to jump out of there and come after me."

I laughed at the idea. "I could see that. I grew up around trees though. The house was in the middle of a meadow and there were trees all around. It was great." I sighed dreamily. I missed home sometimes, and I felt bad for leaving Nevade alone in the house with my step-mother. But at the same time I was enjoying my work here in an entirely different way.

"And what did you do for fun?" Bucky asked, leaning on his right arm and stretching out his legs so that he was lying on his side.

I shrugged. He was probably used to things like walking through Central Park or meeting friends at a diner for burgers. All of the things I used to do for fun sounded so… simple and provincial.

"I played in the meadows," I explained shyly. "I climbed trees and swam in the creek. I rode horses on the trails around the house. Sometimes I'd ride into town to the general store and buy myself candy or a soda. Then I'd come home and lay in the hay loft and eat whatever I'd gotten and read."

Bucky was staring at me like he'd never seen anything like me before. I wasn't quite sure how to take that. I flushed, pushing a stray strand of brown hair behind my ears. I shook my head. "It's stupid…"

"No, no!" Bucky said hastily, leaning forward to assure me. "It sounds… sounds like a lot of fun actually," he admitted. I raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" I asked skeptically. Bucky nodded.

"I've never ridden a horse. Always thought it might be fun though. And as far as playing in meadows… we don't really have those," he chuckled.

I nodded in understanding and reached into the pocket of my skirt. I pulled my mother's pocket watch out and clicked it, flipping open the lid and checking the time. I sighed when I saw how late it was getting in the day.

"I have to go," I said regretfully. Surprisingly, I actually was disappointed. Bucky was easy to talk to, and he gave off this feeling that he was paying attention to you, hanging on your every word. He always looked me in the eye when we spoke and he always leaned towards me. He made me feel like he was actually listening to what I was saying, and that was a new feeling for me.

My step-mother had no time for me if I wasn't going to be doing something ladylike, like needlepoint or cooking. Granny Nevade was always up for anything, she'd sit and listen to me talk for hours and hours about whatever I wanted, but I could see the glazed looking her eyes that said she wasn't paying attention. Even my dad, who would at least try to understand what I was talking about, never paid attention long before he started to lose interest.

"That's alright," Bucky assured me. "I've got laps to run anyway," he added as he stood up. He reached down, offering me his hand. Smiling slightly and trying my hardest not to blush, I took his hand, clutching the dictionary to my chest with the other. He yanked me up and I found myself nearly chest-to-chest with him. Hastily, I took a step back and dropped his hand.

"Ah, sorry," I said, shifting uncomfortably. Bucky's grin-smirk leaned more towards a smirk as his eyes glittered in amusement. It made my stomach do flips. I wasn't sure if I liked the sensation or not.

"So, any chance you'll be having lunch here again tomorrow?" he asked pointedly. I crossed my arms over my stomach, pressing my dictionary to me harder as I nodded.

"Probably."

"Any chance, if I dropped by, you'd have a seat open for me?"

This time there was no stopping the blush. I was starting to wonder if hanging around Bucky Barnes was bad for my health – I always ended up looking like a tomato and that couldn't be good. But I wanted to talk to him again. I liked talking to him. Maybe it was because he was the only man I could have a conversation with outside of the lab. Maybe it was because he was the only one who'd made an effort to talk to me.

Whatever it was, I nodded shyly before hustling back to the lab.

* * *

I walked through the camp, three large tin cups of tea in my hands. I entered the bunkhouse I shared with Peggy and sat one down on her desk.

"I made a drink run," I announced as I set the other two mugs down on my desk.

"Thanks," Peggy said gratefully, picking up her mug and taking a sip. She nodded at me approvingly. "You remembered." Peggy took just a little bit of milk in her tea and that was all.

I nodded as I moved to my trunk and dragged it out from under my bed. Peggy watched me, a confused look on her face as her eyes darted between me and the second cup on my desk.

"Are we expecting guests?" she asked, surprised. I shook my head.

"No, but Dr. Erskine's rarely out of the lab these days and I thought he might like something warm," I explained as I flipped open my trunk and dug a around inside. "Also… aha!"

Triumphantly I held up the bottle of bourbon that was stored in the bottom. Peggy raised an eyebrow at me reproachfully. I winced.

"That's not allowed on base," she said sternly. I bit my lip.

"Ah… about that…"

She thrust out her tin cup, smirking slightly. "Share and I won't tell Phillips."

I laughed as I stood up and moved over to her desk, opening up the bottle as I went. I poured a generous splash into Peggy's tea. She took an experimental sip and nodded in approval.

"That's the best bourbon I've had in a while."

"Thanks, it's from my personal reserve," I said as I added a splash to my own cup and the one I planned to take to Erskine.

'You have a personal reserve?" Peggy asked in surprise. I chuckled.

"Well, it's easy to when your family owns the company."

"I didn't realize your family was in liquor," Peggy said, taking another sip. I nodded.

"Most people don't. They think we're just in coal and oil, but this is also our label."

I looked up and could see Peggy's eyes had gone wide. I bit my lip, hoping I hadn't just made some kind of mistake telling Peggy that I was an heiress. My uncle ran the company, but my father was the oldest. He'd decided to make the military his life though, and left his business-minded little brother to handle the family business. My uncle's children were to be given generous shares of stock in the company upon his death, with the caveat that they only got those if the company was turned over to me.

"You don't need to work a day in your life, do you?" Peggy asked me bluntly. I shook my head and smiled sheepishly.

"Not at all."

"But you do anyway?"

I shrugged. "I'm not good at just sitting around looking pretty and doing embroidery."

"So I'm noticing," Peggy agreed, taking a sip of her tea.

I replaced the bottle in my trunk and left my tea on my desk, grabbing the cup for Erskine and heading into the lab. There were only a couple of people still there – namely, the group of chemistry grad students who were forever looking stressed and arguing with each other.

I slipped past them and knocked on Erskine's door.

"Hereinkommen!" he called. I opened the door and stepped inside. He was at his desk, a mountain of paperwork spread around him. He looked even more exhausted than he had when I spoke to him earlier.

"Josie," he greeted me. "This is a surprise."

"I thought you might like something to drink," I said, placing the cup of tea down next to his hand. He gripped the handle and smiled up at me fondly.

"Danke, that's very kind of you," he said, lifting the cup and taking a sip. I saw his eyes widen at the taste of alcohol. He lowered the cup and looked at it incredulously, then up at me. My mischievous smirk told him everything he needed to know. "Josie," he chided. "Zur schämen…"

I shrugged, unrepentant. "I can always take it back," I said, stretching out my hand to take the cup from him. Erskine yanked it back towards himself protectively.

"No no!" he said hastily. I smiled.

"Thought so," I said knowingly, before giving my goodbyes and heading back to my own tea.

* * *

Hereinkommen – Come in

Danke - Thanks

Zur schämen – for shame


	5. In Phillips' Office

In Pnillips' Office

"I have to say I'm surprised," Peggy said, panting slightly next to me.

"By what?" I asked as I jogged next to her. The pair of us had decided to wake up early that morning and go for a jog around the track the soldiers used for training. We hadn't taken into account that this being an _Army base_ , a place for training _soldiers_ , the track was a lot longer than the one at your average high school.

"I wasn't sure you'd be one for early-morning exercise."

"It was the only time my dad had to work with me," I explained.

"Work with you?" Peggy repeated. "Your father exercised with you?"

"I asked him to. He used to box in the Army. I asked him to teach me, and it was part of my training. He also taught me how to shoot." I smiled at the memories of my dad shaking me awake in the mornings. I'd get up, get dressed, and follow him out onto the grounds around the plantation house. We'd stretch, run laps, do pushups and sit-ups until the rest of the house was awake, and then we'd go in for breakfast, sweaty but happy.

"I see," Peggy said, smiling slightly. "So you're close… to your father?"

"Very. He and my grandmother are really my only family. I have an uncle who handles the family business, but we don't see him and his kids often."

"I'm an only child and so is my… father."

"Your mother?" I asked curiously.

Peggy shook her head. "She has a brother, but he… never married."

Peggy was panting hard now. I was barely breathing deeper, but I adjusted so that she didn't feel so bad.

"Well if you want to stop by…" I panted, "I'm sure dad'd make you run too. Hah!"

We had reached the end of the track. Peggy and I stopped running and she doubled over, hands on her knees as she took a few deep breaths before straightening up.

"I believe I'll need a shower before I face the day," Peggy said, wiping a hand across her sweaty forehead in distaste. "Coming?" she asked, tilting her head in the direction of the barracks.

I shook my head. "I think I'll stretch a moment and then join you."

"Don't take too long," Peggy said sternly. "You have a job to do."

"Yes, mother," I replied with a cheeky grin. Peggy rolled her eyes at me in amusement before taking off for a shower and a clean change of clothes.

I felt great, like I could run another couple of miles. I looked at the track contemplatively and considered running another lap. But Peggy was right, I had a job to do, and after another lap and a cool down I would most definitely be inexcusably late to the lab.

Instead I began stretching out my joints, bending my arms and shoulders and loosening up. I dropped to the ground, feet in front of me, toes pointed, and bent forwards. My fingers just brushed my toes and I held the pose for a few minutes before spreading my legs into a split and touching my head to the ground, feeling the strain in my back.

Pleased with the workout – this was the first time I'd gotten any real exercise since I got to the base – I stood up and breathed in the morning air deeply, savoring the slight chill of the breeze before turning to go back to camp.

I hustled along the roads. The camp was just starting to wake up for the day, with sounds of soldiers moving around inside the barracks. A few early risers were already up and dressed, leaning outside of the buildings and enjoying the morning.

I attracted a few looks as I rushed for my barracks, but thankfully most people were too tired to realize I was there. I turned down the side road that lead to my barracks and picked up the pace, anticipating nice, hot shower.

"Hey, pretty lady. Where are you hurrying off to?"

From between two barracks a hand emerged, catching my wrist. I jerked to a stop and a burly blonde man stepped out, grinning down at me.

I tugged weakly at his grip. "Let me go, please," I requested, my voice tight.

"I don't think so," the blonde said smugly. "You're always rushing around, now that I've got you, I think I'd like to talk for a while."

"I have somewhere I have to be," I said coolly. _Ice cold, ice cold._

It wasn't working quite as well as it usually did though. My blood was already pumping from the morning exercise, and ice cold was hard to do when I felt warm blood pounding in my temples. I was annoyed with these soldiers who seemed to think I owed them the time of day for some reason, and I was very close to fed up with them.

"Where?" the blonde scoffed. "Getting coffee for those lab rats?"

I blinked at him. "Getting… coffee?" I repeated dangerously. _Ice cold, ice cold!_ "That's what you think I do?"

"Aside from eye candy, I don't see what else you could do," he said, gaze sweeping up and down my form lewdly. "Maybe some light cleaning?" He laughed at his own joke.

I wasn't amused.

"Get your hands _off_ of me," I snapped. _"Now."_

 _Ice… cold…_

"No, like I said, you'll run off, and we haven't finished our conversation yet, doll."

 _Burning hot._

"Yes we have," I snarled, and drew my fist back. I swung at him, nailing him in the eye. He reared back, releasing my wrist. I pulled it back and swung again, making contact with his chin. He yelled in pain and staggered back. I had to give a little hop to reach, but for good measure I landed a solid kick in his stomach, flinging him back against the outside of the nearest barracks building. Clutching his stomach and gasping for air, he slowly slid down the wall.

"Do _not,"_ I hissed dangerously, "touch me again."

I turned around and held my head high. I knew exactly what was happening around me, the soldiers murmuring amongst each other and staring at me. A couple looked mad, a couple looked impressed, but most just looked startled. Either way, they all stared as I walked up to my barracks, stepped inside, and shut the door behind me with a bang.

Peggy looked up at me in surprise from where she was busy slicking on her red lipstick. She took in the rage on my face and immediately rose, asking, "What happened?" Her scent fanned around her in her annoyance, something floral undercut with the hardness of steel.

"They can say whatever they want," I said dangerously. "But they will _not_ lay their hands on me."

Peggy's face hardened in understanding. "Are you hurt?" she asked sternly. "Do you need to see Williams?"

I shook my head. "No." I smiled maliciously. "Can't say the same for the guy who touched me, though."

Peggy looked a little put off by my expression. Hastily, I fought down the red still flickering at the edges of my vision and schooled my expression into something tamer. She watched me the whole time, and when I was done, she nodded contently.

"That's far better than the alternative," she said softly. "Go on, I think you've earned a hot shower. I'll tell Erskine you'll be a bit late."

"Don't bother," I said shaking my head. All I wanted was to throw myself into my work, into something that was purely logic and thought and cool-headedness and get away from the anger pumping through my blood and making my fists clenched.

Peggy seemed to understand the desire to throw myself into work, because she gave me a look over to make sure I was fit for duty and then nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you later tonight," Peggy said, and pushed in the chair at her desk, sliding the small mirror she used for her makeup and hair into a drawer. She slid on her shoes and headed out. I stepped past her into the bathroom, shucking my clothes and stepping into the shower. But unlike what Peggy had recommended, I shuddered under cool water instead of basking in the heat.

 _Ice… cold…_

* * *

I wasn't entirely surprised when Erskine approached me only an hour after I'd gotten to the lab. He was looking even more tired than he had been the past couple of days and was also looking unhappy with me. I dipped my head, wincing. I admired Erskine, the last thing I wanted was him to be disappointed in me.

"Colonel Phillips would like to see you in his office," Erskine said stiffly. "Miss Ealum, I hope I didn't make a mistake when I asked you to come here."

I stood up and pulled off my lab coat, folding it and draping it over my chair. I took the time to fight down my gut reaction to start blaming the blonde man who'd grabbed me. It was his fault, but I didn't think Erskine would appreciate me casting blame.

"Sir," I said, turning to face him and folding my hands in front of my waist. "I would never put my hands on someone who didn't put theirs on me first."

Erskine looked slightly mollified by that. The displeasure leaked out of his face, leaving him looking exhausted.

"I see. Well I cannot be mad at you for that. Viel glück, Fraulein Josie," he wished me.

"Danke," I said and moved to the door.

I held my head high as I moved through the camp. I saw a couple of the soldiers giving me passing glances and muttering to their friends under their breath, pointing to me not at all subtly. I knew what they were discussing and I knew what they were wondering. It was on my mind too. Would I be tossed out of the program?

I knocked on the door of Colonel Phillips office. When I heard the call to come in I stepped inside and seated myself in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs in front of Phillips's desk. The whole top of it was spread with papers and files. A stack teetered precariously to the left. Phillips was busily filling out a report when I entered. He was still writing when I sat myself down. He finished the section he was working on, set his pen aside, sighed heavily, folded his hands, and looked at me.

"I'm guessing you know why you're here?"

"A recruit with a black eye filed a report?" I answered bluntly. Phillips snorted.

"I'd watch your mouth if I was you," he said shortly. "I don't have any say over what goes on in that lab, that's Erskine's territory, but I do have a say in what goes on everywhere else. And I say that you will not go around beating up my men."

"Sir," I began respectfully. "The only reason I laid my hands on your recruits was because he grabbed me and refused to let me go when I asked him to do so. I don't lash out for no reason – I was put into a situation where I feared for my personal safety and I reacted accordingly."

Phillips snorted. "And considering who your father is, you could have done worse, and I right?"

I blinked, startled at the mention of my father. "You… know my father?" I asked uncertainly. Phillips nodded.

"Thomas Ealum and I met several years ago, when we'd just come out of basic. I remember that no one on the entire base could beat him in a boxing match. Going by what you did to my recruit," Phillips gave me a stern look, "he taught you how to hit."

I nodded. "He did, sir."

"Which is how I know that you could have taken that recruit apart if you were actually trying to hurt him."

I nodded again. "You're correct, sir."

Phillips stared at me intently from across the desk. "Make no mistake, if this happens again I will toss your ass of off this base so fast you'll leave skid marks behind you. I'm willing to let it lie this time, but don't let this become a habit, Miss Ealum," he warned.

I nodded. "That's fair, sir."

"Good.

He had the same dark circles and exhausted expression as I'd seen so often recently on Dr. Erskine's face. "May I say… you're looking very tired, and so is Dr. Erskine."

Phillips scowled thunderously. "That's what happens when the idiots in Washington makes us run through hoops to get so much as a nickel out of them. But that's not your concern. Now get the hell out of my office and go make me a super soldier."

I smiled. "Yes sir. Of course."

* * *

 **Viel glück – good luck**

 **Not much change in this chapter, so... not much to say. Drop me a review?**


	6. Bruises

Bruises

I sat with my sandwich under the tree by the trail. Instead of bringing a book or notes, I had brought a legal pad and a pen and was busily writing a letter to Granny Nevade. I couldn't tell her anything about the project, beyond that it was progressing well. I told her all about the people I'd met – Peggy, Dr. Erskine, Colonel Phillips. But I didn't mention Bucky. I wanted to keep him all to myself, for some reason. Like if I mentioned him he'd disappear.

Bucky's scent washed over me as the breeze shifted directions. Instead of standing over me, he just sat down casually and asked, "Whatcha writin'?" Today his Kelly green jacket was rolled up to the elbows and only buttoned up halfway. His dog tags were tucked under his shirt.

More alarmingly, he had a black eye, a bruise on his jaw, and a split lip.

I sat up sharply. "What have you done to yourself?" I demanded, eyes roving over his injuries. Bucky reached up, gesturing to his face.

"What, this?" he said with a little chuckle. "This is nothing. You should see the other guy."

"I don't particularly care about the other guy," I informed him tartly, setting my notebook aside and shifting so that I was sitting on my knees. I leaned forward and grabbed Bucky's chin, turning his face so that I could get a better look at the shiner and the bruise on his jaw.

"Is this tender?" I asked, gently prodding the bruise.

"It is with you poking at it," Bucky whined. "Come on, Belle, don't worry about me, I've had worse."

"That doesn't make me feel better," I muttered, before continuing absently. "Normally I'd tell you to wash your face in warm water and witch hazel but I don't know where you'd find that around here. And the tea's wrong…"

"What are you mumbling about?" Bucky asked, pulling his chin out of my grasp. "Witch hazel and tea?"

"Folk remedies," I explained. "A friend of mine from years ago used to hurt herself a lot. Granny Nevade taught me how to fix up bruises for her sake. A warm bath in witch hazel or some damp chamomile tea bags it what I'd usually use, but we don't exactly have that here."

Bucky's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh. That actually works?"

"Every time," I assured him. "Instead, I'll tell you to eat lots of apples or oranges, or get some raw cabbage leaves, mash them up, and put them on the bruises. Onions will do the same, just don't put it on your lip."

Bucky laughed. "Cabbage and oranges, huh? Where were you all the times Steve was getting beaten up?"

I cocked my head, eyebrows drawing together. "Who's Steve?"

"My best friend. He's always getting into fights, always coming home with some new bruise on him because he messed with the wrong guy."

I looked him over pointedly. "And of course, you never do that," I replied knowingly.

Bucky snorted. "I'm not a ninety-pound asthmatic." I winced. "Yeah. Guys see somebody like Steve coming at them, they think they can just deck him and go on about their day. Except Steve doesn't know how to stay down, so he'll keep popping up until someone bails him out."

"Usually you," I guessed.

"Usually me," Bucky confirmed.

"What happened, really?" I asked, still frowning at his bruises. I could guess that Bucky wasn't the kind of guy who exactly had a problem with throwing punches to settle something, but I also figured he wasn't the type to go around swinging his fists at everybody.

"John was shooting his mouth off about you," Bucky explained, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"John," I said blankly. "About me?"

"Big ugly blonde guy?" Bucky explained, holding up his hand above his head and making a face. "You punched him yesterday?" My mouth fell into an O of understanding. Bucky nodded. "Yeah, that guy. He came in pissed to high hell about you using him as a punching bag and ranting about teaching you a lesson. So I taught him one instead."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You got into a fight… on my account?" I said, shocked.

Bucky looked at me incredulously. "Well yeah. You think I was gonna let a guy like that think it was okay to put his hands on you again? Personally, I think you let him off to easy."

I shifted uncomfortably, crossing my arms over my stomach and leaning back against the tree. I'd never had a guy actually get in a fight on my account. And not just because of me, _for_ me. Bucky started throwing punches and got himself knocked around trying to keep me safe.

"You didn't have to do that," I said softly. "I can handle myself."

"Clearly," Bucky agreed, making me look up at him in surprise. "But from the way Phillips feels about you, I figure he's not pleased with what you did. Better I get a couple bruises than you get kicked out because you had to defend yourself from some idiot _again."_

I winced. He was dead on – Phillips wasn't happy. But I was still blown away by the idea that Bucky had gotten into a fight for me – and apparently he did it to try and keep me around.

"Why would you do that for me?" I asked him bluntly.

Bucky grinned. "Well, I'd miss you if you left, Belle."

I blinked in confusion. I remembered him calling me that once earlier, but I'd been more interested in what he'd done to his face. It was a shame to see it all bruised – normally it was a very attractive face. _Very_ attractive.

Now I asked, "Why'd you call me Belle? My name's Josie."

Bucky nodded and grinned. "I know that. But that's what they call girls like you, right? Southern Belles?"

I flushed. That was the image I'd been told to live up to all my young life – a beautiful lady with Southern hospitality, grace, and wit. I'd never been able to manage it – I just couldn't be that demure, that quiet and sweet, without wanting to choke myself. And Bucky thought me, sitting here in the dirt in scuffed leather shoes and my hair in a loose bun, _I_ was Southern belle?

Bucky took my silence as him saying something wrong. He leaned forward, eyes earnet. "Is that bad to say? I wasn't trying to insult you, honest-"

"No!" I said hastily. "No, it's just… no one's ever called me anything like that before."

Granny Nevade told me I was 'pretty as a peach.' Dad told me I was 'a looker like your momma.' My stepmother said things like 'you could stand to spend less time in the sun' and 'Jesus Josephine, put on some blush, you look half dead!' Maybe it was because I'd never been around other people much, but I got it in my head that granny and dad just said these things because that's what family said. My step-mother never seemed to agree with them after all.

And then here came Bucky, calling me Belle. I have no idea if he knew what the word meant, but it meant a lot to me to hear it.

Bucky frowned at that. "Well clearly they weren't thinking straight."

I flushed deeper and wondered dimly if it was possible to end up with a permanent blush.

"Josie, Dr. Erskine has a file for… _oh._ Am I interrupting?"

The scent of flowers and steel tickled my nose. I looked up and saw Peggy standing there with a small, knowing smile on her face.

"No, no, it's fine," I said hastily, standing up and brushing the grass and dirt off the back of my skirt. "Dr. Erskine wants me you said?"

"Yes, but he didn't say it was urgent," Peggy said, looking pointedly at Bucky, who was still sitting on the ground and looking up at me in amusement. I fumbled in my pocket for my mother's watch and flipped it open.

"No, I should go," I said, realizing that again the end of my break had crept up on me without me knowing it, too busy absorbed in talking to Bucky.

"Alright then," Peggy said. I said a hasty goodbye to Bucky and hustled over to Peggy, who turned and walked with me back towards the lab.

"Who was that?" she asked innocently. I floundered.

"Oh, he's just a-"

"Goodbye Belle!"

I whipped around and saw Bucky upright and leaning against the tree, one hand raised in a lazy wave. His smile was big and genuine, not even a little bit of a smirk in it. It was breathtaking.

"Belle?" Peggy repeated. "Did he say-?"

"Oh hush," I mumbled, and took off for the lab. I was smiling, the word 'Belle' dancing around my brain, when I hurried into the lab, my head ducked and trying not to draw attention to myself as I made my way to my desk. I wasn't looking forwards to getting caught for being late, and I was a bit angry at myself that I was. I was usually very punctual, always watching the time. Bucky had distracted me enough that I'd completely forgotten I needed to be back at work.

I gave a small squeak of surprise as a figure stepped in front of me. Tilting my head back slightly, I saw that it was Dr. Campbell

"You're late, Ealum," he barked.

 _Technically_ , he had seniority over me because he had a title in front of his name. Actually, nearly everyone in the lab had seniority over me. My ideas had gotten me here and gotten me some respect, but my lack of a PhD meant that I had the least credentials in the building. Worth and Campbell were the very few that ever pulled rank. Everyone else knew Erskine approved of me, so they pretty much left me to my devices, which I appreciated. It was how I did my best work.

"Sorry Dr. Campbell," I said respectfully. "I lost track of the time."

"Clearly," he sneered, crossing his arms. "As much as you probably enjoy being around all of these soldiers, you do have a job to do. Remember that," he finished coldly.

My hands fisted at my side, nails biting into my palms. I focused on the tiny points of pain to distract me form the growing urge to rip Dr. Campbell's throat out with my teeth. He'd been an absolute bastard to me since the moment I showed up. He delighted in catching me doing something that could even be considered slightly unproductive. A week into my tenure here he had called me out for 'fiddling with papers to kill time.' I very coldly explained that I was organizing my notes.

"I will, sir," I replied coolly. "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't."

I stepped around Campbell and hustled back to my desk. I pulled on my lab coat with a little more vigor that was really deserved and heard a stitch pop. Wincing and embarrassed at the fit of temper, I pulled on the other sleeve a little more gently.

I looked down at my hands. Once again, I'd pierced the skin a little. Darting a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, I surreptitiously licked away the tiny smears of blood from my palm. Satisfied, I turned back to the chalkboard that was currently my arch enemy.

The problem from before still stood. We chemists had managed to strengthen the muscles and bones so that the experiment wouldn't be torn apart or burned through. The problem was, it made them resistant to the serum. The minor triumph had turned into a major hit to morale. We'd thought we'd made progress when it turned out to be nothing. The chemists were tearing out their hair and everyone was a little frustrated.

"Fraulein Josie?"

I looked from the chalkboard to Erskine. "Abraham," I greeted with a smile. "Peggy said you wanted to see me?"He looked just as tired as he had the last time I'd seen him and I remembered what Phillips said about the funding problems they were having. Maybe I needed to add a note to my letter to Nevade…

"I have papers that need to go to the main lab in Brooklyn," he explained, holding up a file. "Would you be willing to take them to Stark? They mostly pertain to the genetics aspects of the project, and Stark knows enough about chemistry to figure out the rest."

I smiled. I was settled into the base, and I liked it fine, but it would be nice to get out and see something new. And besides, the idea of meeting Howard Stark was intriguing. I wondered what he was really like – the playboy of the papers? The genius scientist? Stark was a bit of a mystery.

"I'd be honored," I said with a smile. Erskine passed the file over. It took it and tucked it safely into a drawer of my desk.

"Danke," he said with a nod, and moved off to converse with Worth. The ginger doctor towered over Erskine. Over the top of Erskine's head, Worth shot me a hateful look. I blinked, then realized he wasn't pleased that I was going to be going to meet Stark.

Shaking my head, I turned away from Worth and back to the chalkboard that I was steadily growing to absolutely hate. I scowled at it and at the layer of chalk dust on the floor under it. Come to think of it, my trashcan was overflowing too…

With a groan, I turned my chair around to face the board and sank into it, propping my chin in my hands and staring.

* * *

"Jesus Bucky," said Patrick, a red-head from Baltimore. "The base isn't gonna run out of apples."

"Yeah, that's about the fifth one I've seen you eating today," agreed Tommy from the bunk below Bucky.

Bucky sat on the top bunk, his legs hanging off the end, and took another bite out of his apple. It was a god thing he liked them, because Tommy was right, this was about the fifth one he'd eaten that day.

"Something Josie told me about," Bucky explained, taking another bite. Patrick looked at him in confusion.

"Who the hell's Josie?"

"Erskine's lab assistant," Bucky said like it was obvious. "Hair always in a bun, carries a pocket watch?"

Tommy poked his head out from his bunk, looking up at Bucky in disbelief. "You got her to talk to you?" he gaped. "How'd you manage that?"

Bucky smiled slightly. When Josie talked to him, she was full of interesting conversation and shy smiles. He _loved_ those shy smiles of hers, where she dipped her head and bit the side of her lip. On the rare occasions when she spoke to the other recruits though, she was always cold and dispassionate, a complete flip from how she was with him. Most recruits, just like Patrick, didn't even know her name. They just called her the Ice Queen.

"Probably because I talked to her like a person instead of a bed warmer with legs," Bucky said pointedly. "She saw my bruises and was worried – told me that eating apples and oranges would heal them faster."

"Why would she care about a little brat like you?"

Bucky looked down three beds down to where John was resting on the bottom bunk. He used to sleep on top, but Bucky had at least cracked one of his ribs in their fight, and he could no longer make it up the ladder. He was glaring at Bucky in annoyance.

Bucky took the last bite of his apple and chucked the core at John, nailing him in the head. John sat up, hissing in pain as he moved too fast.

"Probably because _I_ don't put hands on her without permission," Bucky said shortly.


	7. Dr Campbell

Dr. Campbell

" _My mama done tol' me, when I was in pigtails, my mama done tol' me, a man's gonna sweet-talk and give you the big eyes…"_

I sang absently as I swept the floor of the lab. The night was dark outside, only the twinkling stars providing any illumination. The lab still blazed inside though with the industrial lights blaring down from overhead.

While searching for some fresh chalk for my board, I'd found a little corner of the store cupboard dedicated to cleaning supplies that looked like they'd been gathering dust since before the war. My trashcan and the chalk dust were calling my name. I'd never had a problem cleaning, and the lab in general could definitely use it, so I made that my project for the night.

For me, cleaning was almost meditative. I came from a wealthy family, but that didn't mean I grew up never doing any work. My father insisted on it. I had chores from the time I was old enough. I vividly remembered scrubbing the tile in the bathroom every other Saturday and doing my own laundry from the time I was tall enough to reach the controls on the washer.

Cleaning was something I could shut off and do while my mind drifted from thought to thought. I did some of my best thinking when I was cleaning. My thoughts would stray and stretch in all directions, snapping back into place once they'd found a topic they wanted to stick on for a while and then latching on like a pit bull.

I continued to hum the song as I compiled a list of what I needed to do. I meant to ask Peggy if she was willing to spar with me sometime, I'd do that when I got back to the barracks tonight. And I had been cleared to leave base this weekend to go into Brooklyn, Peggy also said she needed to give me some information about the lab security.

I finished with the broom and set it back inside the closet. I picked up a dust rag and set about cleaning the flat surfaces of the lab. I dragged my rag over all of the equipment, careful not to press something inadvertently. Then I moved on to the desks, giving all of them a quick rubdown, being sure to put everything back where it was.

"Look who finally figured out what they're _meant_ to be doing."

I whipped around, my eyes widening. It was Campbell, leaning against the door frame and giving me a superior smirk. I scowled at him, placing my hands on my hips and glaring at him.

"I don't know what you're implying, Dr. Campbell," I replied, forcing myself not to toss the dust rag into his face in irritation.

"Just that women don't have any business strutting around in lab coats," Campbell replied saccharinely, pushing himself off the door frame and stepping into the lab proper. He approached me, staring me down. I just widened my stance and tilted my head back, daring him to cross me.

His mouth quirked to the side, like he was amused by my shift in stance. That made the anger start to bubble up from my stomach.

"I. Do not. Strut," I bit out, doing my best to bore a hole in his head with my glare.

Worth rolled his eyes. "Right. Then what do you call it, strolling around in heels with your face made up? We all know the only reason you're here is to try and snag a soldier for a husband."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "If that were true, I'd hit them less and flirt with them more."

Campbell snorted. "Who knows how women's minds work? You people play all kinds of strange games."

My mouth dropped open, a strangled sound of rage escaping despite my best efforts. Campbell's eyes flashed in triumph at the proof that he was getting to me. I snapped my jaw shut and gritted my teeth, narrowing my eyes at him.

"That's a weak argument and you know it," I snapped at him. He had the audacity to laugh at me.

Then he seemed to notice where I was standing. I was right next to his cubicle, dust rag in my hand. His eyes darted from the rag to his desk. Instantly his eyes went back to me, glaring daggers.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, stalking forwards furiously. He pushed past me brusquely. As he past I caught a whiff of him. Some kind of cologne, paper, and something bitter. He looked over his desk with frantic eyes, like he expected me to have shredded his notes or – oh I didn't know, gotten lipstick all over them, something painfully feminine like that. His eyes darted up to me suspiciously.

"What were you doing to my work area?" he asked, stepping closer to me. Campbell was tall, but so was I. He didn't tower over me quite as much as he'd hoped to, and I could tell it bothered him by the way the corners of his lips turned down.

I thrust the dust cloth under his nose pointedly. "Cleaning," I replied shortly. "What do you think I was doing?"

"Did you touch any of my work?" he pressed, swatting my hand and knocking the cloth out from under his nose.

"No, I would never!" I replied sarcastically.

The truth was, I hadn't. Campbell was almost painfully particular about his work area. When he finished for the day there was never a paper left on his desk. He tucked it all away in his drawers in some kind of convoluted filing system no one else could manage to understand. All I knew was that it involved some kind of numeric code and was far more complicated than it needed to be.

All I'd done was scoot his cup of pencils – all exactly the same length – to dust under it, and then I put it back. There was nothing else on his desk for me to touch.

"You'd better not have messed anything up," Campbell muttered angrily as he tugged open one of his drawers, rifling through the papers. I couldn't tell if he was really talking to me or not. "I won't be set back because some bitch playing scientist got curious…. Doesn't even deserve to be here…"

"Excuse me for trying to be nice!" I exclaimed. Campbell looked up just as I hurled the dust rag at him. It smacked into his face satisfyingly and slid to the ground with a whump. Before Campbell could make another derogatory comment, I stalked out of the lab, hands fisting and unfisting at my sides as I tried not to slip…

A bit of blood leaked into my palm when I clenched my hands too hard. I could smell it, warm and metallic. With a scowl I brought my palm to my mouth and licked the blood away irritably, shivering slightly at the taste. Something about it appealed to the more animalistic side of me. The same side that wanted to stalk back into that laboratory and rip Campbell's throat out with my teeth.

I paused, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes. My fingers tensed, curling into claws and then flexing out in a rhythm as I tried to calm myself down. My nose twitched at the smell of someone familiar and I could hear soft footsteps and the brushing of fabric against fabric.

"Who got you so worked up?"Bucky asked. I opened my eyes and found him leaning against the corner of the closest building, looking at me with his head tilted lazily and a confident little smile on his lips.

"Doctor Campbell," I replied with a snarl, barely fighting down a genuine, chest-deep growl of anger.

Bucky raised one eyebrow. "He the guy from Boston that's always looking down his nose?"

I chuckled. "Yes, that'll be him."

"What'd he do?" Bucky asked, sliding his hands into his pockets and pushing off the edge of the building. He tossed his head in the direction of the barracks, an invitation to walk. I brushed a hand across my forehead and let out a sigh, releasing all of the anger in a woosh of air before I did something stupid, like punched a wall. I stepped up to his side and we started to walk.

"He was being sexist, plain and simple," I explained. "Saying a woman doesn't belong in a lab, let alone leading a team. I'm unqualified, I should be in a kitchen… the usual vitriol."

Bucky shook his head. "I couldn't make heads or tail of those papers I saw you sitting with, and you're the one that wrote 'em. I'd say you know what you're doing."

"That's exactly it!" I burst out, waving my hands in the air. "I do know what I'm doing… _but_ ," I relented, "I don't have a degree. Most everyone else working on the project has a degree in one of the sciences or is working towards one, and I'm entirely self-taught. In fact, that's part of my salary, you could say, is a doctorate so that people _can't_ question my abilities."

Bucky shook his head, laughing slightly. "Well no wonder he doesn't like you."

I jerked away from him, opening my mouth and narrowing my eyes, ready to let him have it. Bucky saw my face and hastily held up his hands, stalling me.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" he corrected. "I just meant if you taught yourself all that, smart as you are… he's probably jealous."

"Jealous," I repeated softly. "Yes, I can understand that, I suppose."

"Right," Bucky nodded confidently. "So, see? Ignore him, he's not worth your time."

"I'm not sure how well that'll go," I admitted somewhat sheepishly. "I… may have lost my temper with him."

"Lost your temper with him like you lost your temper with that soldier?" Bucky asked, raising his eyebrows. "I'm sorry I missed that. I'd have like to see you deck that guy. He's always sneering at the rest of us guys, just because we're here for basic and not solving the world's problems."

"No," I chuckled. "I went after him with a dust rag."

"Well, from what you've said, he deserved a good dusting," Bucky said, leaning down in my direction just a little and tossing me a wink. "This you?"

"Indeed it is," I said as we stopped beside my barracks. I shifted to face Bucky, giving him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Bucky. I needed that."

And I really did. I felt like I had to keep my frustrations with my colleagues to myself. Erskine had his own problems and I wasn't quite friendly enough with Peggy yet to want to pour my heart out to her. Bucky, though, with his unique brand of advice and jokes, was a good listener.

Bucky grinned, pulling a hand from his pocket and giving a lazy, two-fingered salute. "Any time, Belle," he said, and started off. "Good night!" he called over his shoulder.

"Goodnight," I murmured to myself, opening the door and stepping inside the barracks. Peggy was sitting at her desk, already in her nightgown, robe, and slippers for the evening. In one hand was a letter on official stationary, but she was focused on me.

"And who was that gentlemen?" she asked pointedly. I flushed slightly, knowing where this conversation was about to go. "Your mystery soldier from the tree?"

"Just one of the recruits," I said breezily. I liked Bucky, I did. I liked talking to him, and he listened to whatever I had to say without saying it was unladylike or telling me I was doing something I shouldn't be. And yes, I wasn't blind. That boy's face was kissed by angels – and so was the rest of him, all told.

But Campbell's words were fresh on my mind. I was here for my career, to make a name for myself. Not to chase a pair of dog tags around the base.

"Does this recruit have a name?" Peggy asked leadingly.

"Peggy." I whined, trying to get her to let it drop. She just raised an eyebrow at me and sat back in her chair, waiting patiently. I sighed. "Bucky Barnes."

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Peggy said pointedly. I didn't answer, just made my way towards my bed and sat down, unlacing my shoes. I reached back and unclipped my stockings from my garter belt, getting ready for bed myself.

"I was wondering if you'd be up for a little spar in the morning," I requested. Peggy raised an eyebrow.

"I know you're capable of handling yourself," she said slowly. "But I've had formal training, and I don't know-"

"So have I," I cut her off.

"Have you?" she asked curiously. I nodded, smiling.

"Aside from the normal rough-housing with my cousins, my father was a very good boxer back in the day. He taught me, and an old friend used to give me tips when she dropped by."

"She?" Peggy repeated in surprise. I nodded happily, remembering the days when my friend was staying with us. She lived in the plantation house for almost three years before finally moving on to somewhere new. She wasn't good at staying in places for very long.

"Yeah, she. But I haven't seen her in nearly… oh, five years now probably," I said sadly. "I don't even kno where she is, to be honest. That's probably for the best though."

"Why?" Peggy asked curiously.

"Her name is Yori Tsukuda," I said bluntly. Peggy winced.

"Ah, I see."

"Last I heard from her, she was heading back to Japan though, so hopefully she's safe," I said, trying to convince myself. Then again, she had mentioned trying to get to Japan by heading through Europe and Russia – going all the way around the world. There was no telling whether or not she'd gotten caught up in the fighting.

I sent up a silent prayer for my friend and continued getting ready for bed.


	8. Fights and Finance

Fights and Finance

"So, are you enjoying working for our good doctor?"

Peggy ducked as I threw a punch at her head and came up towards my side. I lowered my elbow and blocked her. She swung at me again and I skittered backwards. I threw a kick at her head and she reached a hand, blocking me. She gripped my ankle and yanked, trying to tug me off balance. I went with the tug, aiming to use the momentum for an extra-strong punch.

"Miss Ealum!"

Surprise made me lower my guard. I twisted around to see who had called my name. Dr. Erskine was standing in the doorway of the little gym that Camp Lehigh boasted. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to shout a warning, but not before Peggy's wrapped knuckles landed on my shoulder with a surprising amount of force for a woman her size.

I was already off balance, and I toppled to the ground. My head smacked into the mats and instinct took hold. A concerned Peggy hurried to my side, but all I saw was a looming opponent.

"I'm sorry, Josie, I-"

A shot of adrenaline went through me and I lashed out with a foot, nailing Peggy in the ankle. She yelped as she dropped, her elbows banging painfully to the ground. I rolled onto my side and felt a snarl curl my lips back. Peggy looked up at me, panting, eyes wide.

Peggy, who I'd spent hours talking with last night. Who was my roommate and the closest thing I had here to a best friend.

I recoiled, tucking my hands back against my chest, feeling my nails bite into my palms. I took deep, frantic breaths, trying to get control of myself. The adrenaline was still pounding in my veins. I worked to wind it back in, trying to force my heart to slow back to a normal, sedate pace.

The sound of running footsteps provided a sufficient distraction. I looked from Peggy's wide-eyed stare to see Dr. Erskine standing at the edge of the mat.

"Meine Gott!" he cried in German. "Are you two alright?"

I looked at Peggy desperately, twisting up onto my knees so that I knelt next to her. "Peggy, I'm so sorry," I insisted. "I just reacted, I didn't think… Are you alright?"

Peggy was looking at me with this expression… like she hadn't quite seen me before. It was crushing, like she'd just punched me in the gut. Then the expression was gone, shuttered off behind a polite smile and hidden away like it had never happened. But I knew it was still in her mind.

I had lashed out. There was no other word for it. She'd seen me coming at her with a snarl, she'd seen the look on my face and the way my nose had wrinkled, my lips curling.

"It's fine, Josie," she said reassuringly. She got to her feet and left the ring just a little faster than was really necessary. "I hit you, you hit me. We were sparring, it happens." She turned and sat down on the bench where we'd left water and towels.

"I'm still… I'm sorry," I repeated, slowly rising to my feet. I wasn't quite sure what else to say. I'd slipped up, and she'd seen, and that changed things. We'd been getting along well, and then I had to go and do something like this and ruin it.

Dr. Erskine cleared his throat. "Alright, well then. I think it's time you both got back to work. May I steal her back, Agent Carter?"

Peggy was still panting, a glass of water resting on the bench beside her. Her forehead gleamed with sweat and her curls were everywhere. She looked almost unnerved as she sent me a parting glance.

"Of course, doctor," Peggy replied. She grabbed her water and beat a hasty retreat to the locker room to change into her usual uniform.

"Miss Ealum, I need a word."

I winced at that. Dr. Erskine usually called me Josie. If he was calling me Miss Ealum, then I'd definitely done something wrong. And I had a bad feeling I knew what.

"What's happened?" I asked as I moved to the bench Peggy had just vacated. I took a few gulps of water, despite the fact that I wasn't really thirsty, and began unwrapping the tape from my knuckles. I frowned when I saw a few blots of blood from where my nails bit into my palms, but the marks were already gone.

"It would seem that Dr. Campbell has filed a complaint against you," Dr, Erskine said. I looked up at him and found him just staring at me, a look of disappointment in his eyes. His hands were folded in front of him, waiting.

"What did he say I did?" I asked wearily, although I could already guess. I tossed the tape down onto the bench and sat down.

"According to Dr. Campbell you physically assaulted him," Dr. Erskine explained. "Normally I would dismiss this as academic rivalry, but you have proven yourself capable of physical violence before. Just now I saw you assault Agent Carter," he said, nodding to the ring pointedly. I followed his gaze and in my mind's eye I could see Peggy sprawled out on the ground, that startled and hurt expression on her face.

"That was just instinct," I said automatically, blinking away the image of Peggy. Dr. Erskine sat down next to me, folding his hands in his lap. He nudged me with one shoulder.

"Was the incident with Dr. Campbell instinct as well?"

He looked disappointed in me, and that hurt. There were very few people in my life I truly admired. My father, my great-grandmother. Peggy was making her way onto that list, and Dr. Erskine was near the top. In way, having him disappointed in me was even worse than having my own father give me that look. At least my father would give you a way to atone, chores or drills, something. Dr. Erskine wasn't giving that option, he just wanted information, an explanation.

I shook my head silently and leaned forwards, burying my head in my hands. I did _not_ want to see him looking at me like that. Dr. Erskine was an impressive man – a genius scientist, one who escaped from HYDRA, who was doing his best to help the war effort. Letting down someone like that was crushing.

"Josie," Dr. Erskine said slowly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I need an explanation."

I straightened up, sighing. "I have a temper," I began. Dr. Erskine smiled slightly at that.

"I had noticed."

"I stayed late to clean," I recited. "Dr. Campbell came in and he started saying how I didn't belong there. He got agitated when he realized I'd dusted the top of his desk, kept demanding to know if I'd touched his files."

"Ah." Dr. Erskine nodded. He knew as well as anyone how particular Campbell was about his files. "I see."

"He kept going on about how I didn't deserve to be here, how I should be cleaning instead of 'playing scientist,'" I added hastily. "He called me a bitch."

"And did you react violently?" Dr. Erskine asked pointedly, looking at me over the top of his glasses.

I shrugged. "I didn't really think so. I threw a dust rag in his face."

"You… threw a dust rag in his face?" Dr. Erskine said, blinking. "That's it…?"

I looked up at him in confusion. "Yes… I'm sorry," I added. "I shouldn't have lost my temper, I know I shouldn't have, he just made me so mad…"

"Calm down," Dr. Erskine encouraged. He patted my shoulder and smiled at me genuinely. I frowned, confused.

"You're not angry with me anymore?"

"Josie, I wasn't angry to begin with!" Dr. Erskine laughed. "Merely… disappointed. As I said, I wouldn't have believed it but for the fact that I've seen you react violently against people before. Campbell claimed you punched him like you did with that soldier."

I raised my eyebrows, a bit annoyed. "That was a completely different situation!" I protested. "That soldier put his hands on me, Dr. Campbell just got mouthy. I can handle people getting mouthy without using violence!"

"So I see," Dr. Erskine assured me. I still winced and looked down at my lap.

"I still shouldn't have lost my temper," I muttered. "It wasn't professional."

"From what you've told me, you had every right to be a bit peeved after what Dr. Campbell said to you," Dr. Erskine mused. He was still patting my shoulder soothingly. I smiled a bit at that. "For now, I would advise you to just avoid Dr. Campbell as much as possible. Don't give him the opportunity to rile you up."

I nodded, smiling at Dr. Erskine. "Thank you, sir."

"It's nothing," Dr. Erskine said, patting my shoulder one last time. He stood up and offered me a hand. I took it and stood. "I think it's time we got to work, eh?"

I looked up at the clock on the wall. It was nearing nine in the morning. Most of the other scientists would have already been at work for an hour now. Those who'd burned the midnight oil would likely still be passed out, but they deserved it. I knew for a fact that one of the biologists was working about sixteen hours a day. I'd see him chugging coffee in a desperate attempt to stay awake.

"That would probably be a good idea," I agreed.

"Walk with me," Dr. Erskine invited, offering me his arm. I took it, sliding my hand into the crook of his elbow. I gathered up my water in my free hand and tossed the towel over one shoulder. We headed for the door. Just as we reached it, and Dr. Erskine reached out to open it, he paused.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"… We have a dust rag?"

* * *

I peered around the lab. As expected, most everyone was gone. It was nearly midnight, and the only people still present were a pair of biologists swaying tiredly near a chalkboard of squiggles with steaming coffee cups clutched tightly in their hands and stubble on their jaws. A third was sprawled across the desk behind them.

Judging by the light under the door to his office, Erskine was still there as well. I cautiously crept past the chemists, but I needn't have bothered. They were too out of it to notice much of anything. Quietly, I knocked on the door to Erskine's office.

"Come in," was the tired reply. I opened the door and stepped inside, shutting the door behind me. Erskine sat behind his desk surrounded by a sea of paperwork. I could see a ledger open in front of him, an unnerving red pen held in his hand. He tugged off his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a moment, putting them back on before addressing me with a weary smile.

"Guten abend, Josie," he greeted weakly. "Isn't it a little late to be up?"

"Apparently not," I said, nodding to him pointedly as I sat down in the chair opposite his desk. "I had something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Erskine asked, perking up slightly and leaning forwards in interest.

"Phillips told me you've been having money troubles with the Senate," I admitted. Erskine sighed and leaned back wearily in his chair, mumbling something about Phillips having a big mouth under his breath in his native language.

"I noticed you both seemed tired and I asked him," I explained hastily. "He told me what was going on."

"That was nice of him," Erskine said, but he still sounded a little tart. "But I don't want you worrying about money troubles."

"That's why I made a few calls," I said sheepishly, fiddling with the edge of my sleeve.

Erskine's eyes narrowed. "You did what?" He leaned forwards. "Fraulein Ealum, this project is top secret, if you have told anyone what we are working on I will have no choice but to-"

"I didn't!" I assured him quickly. "I didn't. I called my great-grandmother, Nevade."

Erskine frowned. "You… called your grandmother?"

I nodded, feeling a little awkward. It was always uncomfortable explaining to people that my family was very close to Howard Stark in terms of wealth. We'd been lucky in our investments after the Civil War and those investments had turned into thriving businesses, the profits of which flowed to everyone in the family.

"The Ealum Corporation," I explained slowly, "has money coming in from cotton, coal, oil, liquor, horses, even a couple of steel mills. As you can imagine, those generate quite a bit of profit."

Erskine's eyes widened. "I can imagine. I knew you came from money, Miss Ealum, but I didn't realize…"

"Most people don't, we pretty much stay out of the public eye, unlike our generous benefactor Howard Stark," I said with a small smile. "But I called Nevade. I explained that the project I was working on was underfunded and that it was to help the war effort."

"That is all?" Erskine asked sternly. There was only so much that we were allowed to say about the project, and talking about it at all wasn't exactly approved of. I'd been very careful when talking to Nevade to make sure I didn't give away anything.

"That's all," I assured him. "And she authorized me to write this."

From the pocket of my navy blazer I pulled out a folded check and passed it over the table to Erskine. He took it curiously and unfolded the check. His eyes widened and he fairly choked when he saw the amount.

"Miss Ealum!" he gasped. "This is… too much!"

"It's really not," I said firmly. "You know my father is a Lieutenant Colonel currently in Greece. But my grandfather was a retired army captain, and my great-uncles also served. Two cousins have enlisted since the war started. For us, this is not just an investment in your project, but an investment in bringing our family home safely, and continued service to this country."

I bit my lip. I didn't talk about it much, but I worried about my family. Peter, the brat with whom I'd had a decade-long prank war going on. Claude, the youngest, barely eighteen, who used to crawl into my bed when the fall thunderstorms blew through the state.

Erskine looked at me grimly and I knew he understood. He didn't say, but I could guess that he had lost people to HYDRA. He knew what this project meant to me, and to my family – a chance to end the war sooner and pull our family out of harm's way.

"I hope this will help bring your family home," Erskine said softly, holding up the check.

I smiled. "I don't doubt that it will."

* * *

 **Meine Gott! – My God!**

 **Guten abend – Good evening**


	9. Steve

Chapter 9: Steve

I was dressed nicer than usual, given that I wasn't in a lab where there was the potential for strange chemicals getting spilled on me. For my trip into Brooklyn I'd donned a navy skirt and blazer, a white button-front and scarf, and black heels. A black beret rested on top of my head and my hair was pulling back into a long braid and tossed casually over one shoulder.

I squinted up at a street sign and turned at the corner. I scanned the stores as I passed, looking for the right one. The antique store was on my right. When I ducked in, a little bell rang. I peered around. Like many antique shops, it was silent as the grave with the odd smell that came with age lingering in the air.

An older woman in a peach blouse smiled at me from behind the counter. "Wonderful weather we're having," she commented. I saw her right hand move beneath the counter. I had no doubt she had some kind of weapon or alarm under there and was just waiting to press it.

Hastily, I said, "Yes, but I always carry an umbrella."

She relaxed and gestured for me to follow her behind a curtain to the back room. I stepped behind the counter and glanced at the spot where she'd been standing, smiling slightly when I saw the automatic weapon resting in a little niche.

The backroom was lined with bookshelves. The woman pulled one back. I couldn't resist smiling at the cheesiness of it all as a section of the shelves slid back and revealed a long, white-tiled hallway. It looked like a hospital more than a secret government laboratory.

" _There_ you are!"

A head popped out from the hallway with a neatly-trimmed moustache, slicked back hair, and a wide, cheeky grin. I recognized him from the press clippings, although he looked different in slacks and a button-down with rolled-up sleeves instead of the classy three-piece suits.

Howard Stark winked at the older woman. "I'll take it from here, Mary."

Mary smiled back, eyes glittering in amusement. "Of course, Mister Stark."

Howard grinned after her as she left the back room. "Love that old gal, great sense of humor. You must be the Herr Doctor's favorite little scientist, the one who's trying to replace me as benefactor," he wagged a finger at me chidingly. "Josephine Ealum, right?"

"Josie," I said, and offered him a hand. He took it, shook once, and then tugged me into the hallway. I got my feet back under me quickly as the bookcase slid shut behind me, nearly catching my skirt.

"Do you have my file?" Stark asked as we started down the hallway. I dug into my handbag, flicking past my pocket book, and copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I'd brought with me to read on the ride to and from camp, and finally found the file. I passed it over. Stark took it and immediately began flicking through the papers, making a face at some of the numbers. I didn't blame him. The latest projections for the likelihood of any test subject surviving the procedures were currently in the low twenties.

"Well this just all sounds horrible," Stark announced, gesturing to the papers in his hands. "Tell me, what are things looking like on your end?"

"Currently?" Stark nodded. I drew a finger across my throat. "It could go one of three ways. Either something like the muscle replicating so fast that it bursts out of the skin or crushes the internal organs, the body burns through energy so fast that we might as well have just induced cardiac arrest, or the body begins to mutate in unexpected ways and who knows what happens from there."

Stark winced. "Extra eyes, that sort of thing?"

I shook my head. "If we're lucky."

"Great," he sighed, pushing open a pair of doubled doors. We stepped onto a grated platform. Below us was a lab in various stages of construction. Several white-coated figures rushed around with clipboards and files while others in jumpsuits tinkered with the massive amount of machinery being assembled.

"Oh," I said in awe. "That's… beautiful."

Stark grinned. "Girl after my own heart. Come on, I'll give you the grand tour."

* * *

I felt like I'd just had one too many spins on the dance floor as I stepped out of the lab. Not only was I reeling from the laboratory – I could have gushed for hours about the equipment alone, some of which was the only of its kind – but also over meeting Howard Stark. He was the sort of person who just rolled up, made your head spin with his genius, and then vanished.

I was dazed as I walked along the sidewalk. After throwing a few ideas around with Howard Stark – I had a few theories on how to improve the serum. I was mentally running trade-offs and making switches in my head, lost to the world around me as I made my way back to where I was to meet the car back to the base.

The smell of blood pulled me out of my thoughts.

I jerked to a stop and stepped to the edge of the sidewalk to stay out of the way of the other pedestrians. Pressing up against the hardware store behind me, I pretended to fiddle with something in my purse, ducking my head to disguise a long, deep inhale.

The smell of blood was coming from an alley at the other end of the block. I listened hard and could vaguely hear the sounds of fists on flesh.

Snapping my bag shut I power-walked down the last couple of yards to the mouth of the alleyway, peering down it. At the very end, half-hidden by a cluster of trash cans, a tall man with the build of a football player had a young blonde boy by the collar and was laying into him.

Indignation welled up and I shouted, "Hey!" before I even thought about it. The man stopped throwing punches and whipped around, giving the blonde time to stagger away and sag against the brick wall, wheezing disconcertingly.

"Move along, ma'am," the man barked at me. "Nothing to see here."

"On the contrary," I disagreed, stepping down the alley. "Let that poor boy go this instant!"

The man scowled. "He was mouthing off, lady, I was just teaching him some manners."

I crossed my arms, giving the man a thoroughly unimpressed stare. "What, by beating them into him? That's civilized."

The man sneered. "Whatever." He sent the blonde a dismissive glance. "Good thing your girl was here to save you, shrimp."

He storm out of the alley, bumping me with his shoulder as he passed. I glared after him, debating about whether or not to demand an apology. That would have only made the situation worse, so I let it pass. That boy needed my help more than that man needed a verbal kick in the pants.

"Come here, let me have a look at you," I said, beckoning the boy out from behind the trashcans. He stepped out, holding the sleeve of his jacket to his bleeding nose. His cheeks were pink. I got the feeling that he was embarrassed about having someone see him get the stuffing knocked out of him.

"Don't do that," I said, reaching out and gently pulling his hand away from his nose. I observed it with a wince. "Ooh, that's broken," I diagnosed. I reached into my purse, pulling out a handkerchief and passing it to him. "Use that," I urged.

"It'll stain," he protested.

"A stain on my handkerchief is close to the bottom of my list of concerns right now," I assured him, catching his unbloodied hand and leading him gently out of the alley. I glanced around and spotted a bench outside a photography studio. I headed towards it, towing the blonde behind me.

"Sit down and I'll see what I can do about that nose," I said, seating myself and patting the bench beside me. The boy sat down, pulling the stained handkerchief away from his face.

Up close, I could see that his face was that of a man, and I remembered his voice being deeper than expected. He was probably about my age, he was just so tiny he looked younger.

"You don't need to bother," the man said hastily, lifting up the handkerchief again to catch a dribble of blood before it ran off his chin. "I'll be fine."

"No you won't," I disagreed. "You'll have a twist in your nose and it'll make it harder to breathe. You already seem to have trouble with that, judging by the way you're wheezing."

It was fainter now, but still present. The man immediately tried to correct it, taking deep, slow breaths like it didn't bother him.

"Asthma," he admitted sheepishly. I nodded in understanding.

"I see. Then you should definitely let me fix this."

"Are you a nurse?" he asked curiously. I shook my head.

"No, but I've fixed my own nose a couple of times." I healed fast, but I had to get the cartilage straightened out or it healed crooked, and I was better off to rebreak it and fix it properly. "It will hurt," I warned him. He straightened up, trying to look tough, but I could almost smell the nerves on him.

"Go ahead," he approved.

I braced my hand on his forehead to keep him from jerking with me and delicately pinched his nose between the knuckles of two of my fingers. Ruthlessly, I jerked. The man let out a yip of pain as the cartilage slid back into place. I quickly released him and his hands jerked up to cover his nose, his eyes watering.

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "There's really no better way to do it."

"That's fine," he gasped, wiping at his eyes with the handkerchief. He scrubbed at his face, trying to get rid of the blood on his face. "Thank you," he said as he dabbed at his cheek and winced. I guessed he'd probably have a bruise there later on.

"Onions," I advised.

He blinked at me. "What?"

"Onions," I repeated. "Or mashed-up cabbage leaves. They help with bruises. I'm guessing you'll have some here in an hour or two."

He wiped the last of the blood off his chin and frowned down at the handkerchief. It was more red than white now. He looked up at me sheepishly. "Uh…"

"It doesn't matter." I took the handkerchief from him, wadded it up, and tossed it in a nearby trashcan.

"Thanks for all your help, ma'am," he said.

"Josie," I introduced myself, offering a hand. He started to take it with his bloody hand, but quickly switched. We shared an awkward, fumbling handshake before he said, "Steve."

That sparked a memory. Skinny guy with asthma, always getting in fights, named Steve.

"Do you by any chance know a Bucky Barnes?" I asked him slowly.

Steve jerked in recognition, staring at me with wide eyes. "Buck? Yeah, he's my best friend. How do you know him?"

I smiled. "You're the Steve I've heard about that's always getting into fights."

Steve winced. "Ah. He told you about that?"

I nodded before assuring him. "Only good things, I promise. There aren't many good topics for conversation on an Army base."

Steve stared at me askance. "You met Bucky at basic?"

I winced. "Oh, yes, it sounds odd. I work on the base. Nothing I can talk about," I added hastily before Steve could open his mouth to ask. "But we've met. He's been a relief, actually. One of the only men there I can have a conversation with without getting propositioned."

Steve smiled fondly. "That's Bucky. Whatever you need, he's there. How is he doing?" Steve asked eagerly.

"Well," I assured him. "He's seemed happy every time I've spoken to him. He's gotten into a few fights of his own," I smiled.

Steve scoffed. "And he gives me a hard time. Thanks for telling me, I'll have something to hold over him when he gets back in a week."

I winced slightly, staring at my lap. My fingers twiddled the end of my scarf. That was right, Bucky would be leaving Camp Lehigh in a week. His basic was almost over. I would miss him a lot. More than I'd realized, actually. I hadn't realized until I considered him leaving how much I would miss hearing him yelling "Belle!" and listening to me without judgment.

I shook my head slightly and dug my fingernails into my palms. The familiar pricks of pain grounded me.

"Glad I could help. Mind telling me what happened back there?" I asked, nodding to the alley. Steve winced.

"Oh, uh… Just this guy… shooting his mouth off… bad-mouthed a couple of soldiers."

I nodded in understanding. With a best friend in basic I could understand why Steve wouldn't take well to that. And I had to admit, I probably would have done the same thing had I heard it.

I glanced at my watch. The car was due in ten minutes and it would take about that long to walk there. I was certain they would wait, but I didn't want to waste the driver's time. "It was wonderful to meet you Steve, but I had a meeting I have to get to."

"Good to meet you too," Steve said jovially as we both stood up. "Wish it could have been under better circumstances. Thanks for the nose though."

"Not a problem," I assured him, waving as I left.


	10. Jekyll and Hyde

**It's been a minute so have a double update!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Jekyll and Hyde

"Aha!"

"Howard!" I snapped in annoyance as the creased paper was yanked out of my hands. "Give that back!" I said, making a snatch for it. Howard danced backwards, holding it up over his head. He scanned the paper and made a face.

"Well, I've finally figured out your secret – you're a Japanese spy," he said, turning the paper around so that I could see the neat columns of writing on it. The ink was slightly faded – the letter was five years old, after all. It was still legible though.

"Shut up, that's from an old friend of mine," I said, snatching the letter back and shoving it inside my book. It was the last letter from Yori. I'd dug it out of the hatbox of old letters, postcards, and pictures I carried with me. Talking about her with Peggy had brought Yori to the front of my mind. I was going through her old letter endlessly, hoping to see some clue of where she had gone since then or whether or not she was safe.

"She's not even in the country," I grumbled.

"I didn't know you spoke Japanese," Howard said, looking hurt that I hadn't told him. "Or that you could read it. I figured you just knew German."

"I'm also decent enough at Greek," I replied. Howard raised an eyebrow.

"Parlez-vous français?" he tried.

"Bonjour, j'mapelle Josie. Et toi?"

Howard grinned as he asked, "Habla español?"

"Un poco."

"O-day ou-yay eak-spay ig-pay atin-lay?"

"Howard, I swear…"

"Okay, okay," Howard chuckled, waving his hands. "I'll stop. Tell me about this friend of yours?"

He pulled over a chair and sat down next to me, propping his feet up on the table and folding his hands on his stomach expectantly. I looked at him sternly.

"I'm here for official project business, not to gossip," I reminded him chidingly. Howard shrugged carelessly.

"Let me check with the boss." He leaned to the left. "Is it okay if Josie gossips with Howard?" He leaned to the right and made his voice deeper. "Yeah, go ahead." Howard sat straight in his chair and grinned at me smugly. "He said it was okay."

I rolled my eyes but grinned. Howard was childish and flirtatious and mischievous and a hundred other less-than-stellar things, but he was great. He'd flirted with me relentlessly at first, but after I told him politely but firmly that if he didn't stop I was going to pull the pistol out of my purse and shoot his balls off, he relaxed into friendly teasing.

"What do you want to know?" I asked him, throwing up my hands in submission.

"How about a name?"

"Yori Tsukuda."

"And how old is she?"

I paused. That was a tricky one. "About twenty-five."

Howard grinned rogueishly. "And is she cute?" I doubled over laughing at the question. Howard looked at me incredulously. "What?" he demanded. "It's a perfectly reasonable question!"

I got my giggles under control and looked up at Howard, shaking my head. "She would chew you up and spit you out, Howard Stark."

Howard grinned. "Sounds like my kind of woman."

* * *

"Belle!"

I turned around to see Bucky step out of the door of his barracks. I stopped, waiting for him a few feet down the road. He rushed over to me, a grin on his face. I felt a pang, remembering that I didn't have a lot of time left with him, and then cursed myself for it.

"Bucky." I smiled in greeted. "It's good to see you."

"You too." He was looking me up and down. Unlike when the other soldiers did it, his gaze made me feel warm and wonderful. I felt a blush stain my cheeks. Bucky skipped politely over my chest and looked me in the eye. I knew he caught the blush, because his smile widened by a few molars. "Belle, you look…" He shook his head helplessly. "Maybe if I read as much as you do I'd have a better word for it, but _beautiful_ will have to do."

I flushed. That… was absolutely the _sweetest_ thing anyone had ever said to me. I felt shy under his gaze as Bucky continued to trail his eyes over me, following the loop of my scarf and the fall of my braid like he didn't want to miss a detail.

I looked down at my feet and managed to say, "Thank you, Bucky."

"May I escort the lady back to her quarters?" Bucky asked gallantly, offering me an arm. I took the offer and the pair of us started walking through camp.

"So what's got you all dolled up?" Bucky asked, sending me yet another appreciative stare from the corner of his eyes.

I hesitated a moment, wondering just how much I could say. "I had to take some papers to Brooklyn." That was vague enough.

Bucky nodded knowingly. "And you can't say any more than that, right?"

I shook my head. "Not if I want to keep my job."

"We'll leave it at that then. I like having you around, Belle."

I blushed again. It didn't know if it was me dolled up that had Bucky being so flirtatious or if he was just growing fonder of me. I'd like to think it was the second one. I was growing fonder of him too the more times we talked. He was genuinely a good man, which was about the highest compliment I could think to give a person. He was kind and happy and funny and everything a man should be.

My heart was pitter-pattering as I replied softly, "I like having you around as well, Bucky."

I looked up and saw that he seemed pleased by that.

"I met Steve today," I said, changing the subject. I didn't know if I could handle any more compliments from Bucky without my heart exploding out of my chest or my face going permanently red.

Bucky jerked, looking around at me in shock. "You did? How? What happened?"

I chuckled slightly. "You were right. He does get in a lot of fights."

Bucky groaned and smacked himself in the forehead with his free hand. He dragged his hand down his face, sighed, and asked resignedly, "What did he do?"

"Apparently he confronted a man who was bad-mouthing some soldiers," I recalled. "I got them apart. He was bruised quite a bit and his nose was broken by the end, but I straightened it out for him and gave him some advice on the bruises. He seemed alright when I left him."

"Thank you," Bucky said earnestly. "There aren't a lot of ladies that would have stepped up for him."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Then they aren't ladies."

Bucky chuckled at that. "I suppose not." He looked down at me, his eyes glinting with some kind of… something, I wasn't really sure. "What are you reading?" he asked, looking down at the book tucked under my arm.

I glanced down at the book, having briefly forgotten I was holding it. I pulled it out and offered it to him.

"The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde," he read the title. He flipped the book open and I saw him wince slightly at the wording. I didn't blame him. The first time I ever tried to read anything written from a different time period it made my head hurt too, but I eventually slid into the words and began to understand.

"This is the one about the man who turns into a monster, right?" Bucky asked, flipping a few more pages into the book. "I think my high school teacher mentioned it once or twice."

I paused. It was a conception many people had about the book, but really, it was more about man vs self, man vs his animal nature. It was a poignant and cautionary tale. Don't try to deny your inner demons, but do not give them too much power either. I appreciated that struggle more than most.

"Not necessarily," I said slowly. Bucky paused, turning to look at me. I stared ahead thoughtfully. "It's not that Hyde is a monster, not really. That's the horrible thing. He came from a human. He's the beast inside the man, the one we all have inside of us."

Bucky raised an eyebrow at the book, looking at it with new respect. Then his eyes flicked to me. "And this is your light reading?" he asked wryly.

I shrugged sheepishly. "I like it," was all I said. I was hesitant as I added, "Would you like to borrow it?"

"Well I'll admit I've probably got a better chance of understanding this than the last book I found you with," Bucky said with a chuckle. He held the book up. "Sure you don't mind?"

I shook my head. "No, I've read it often enough that I have it mostly memorized," I admitted. "It's a favorite of mine."

"You sure you don't mind me borrowing it?" he confirmed.

"I wouldn't have offered if I did," I said, and glanced down at my pocket watch. For once, I wasn't running late. I would be, though, if I didn't get a move on, and I still needed to change into clothes suitable for the lab.

"You'd better go, Belle," Bucky urged, loosening his grip on my arm. He saw me check my watch and knew what that meant. "Wouldn't want you getting in trouble on my account."

"Thank you Bucky," I said as we stopped by my barracks. "It was sweet of you to walk me back."

"Don't be fooled, it was completely selfish," Bucky assured me. "I just wanted to talk to you some more."

I blushed and smiled shyly. Bucky's face softened. He reached out and dragged the back of his fingers across my cheek. I looked up at him in surprise.

"You go save the world with science, huh?" he said. He held up the book. "And I'll get reading."

"You don't have to rush…" I assured him, but Bucky was already shaking his head.

"Well if I want to talk to you about somethin' smart, I figure a good way to start is with one of your favorite books. See you around, Belle."

* * *

Bucky was under the sheets of his bed, the book propped open on his knees and the end of a flashlight held in his mouth to illuminate the pages. He turned one and the flashlight started the slip. The light swung crazily around the room and Bucky hastily caught it, clenching his teeth tighter.

"Barnes, I swear," someone growled from down the row of bunks. "If you don't turn out that light…"

Bucky pulled the flashlight out of his mouth and demanded, "Yeah, what're you going to do?"

"You don't wanna know!"

"Leave him alone," Patrick said tiredly. "He's just trying to get through that book the Ice Queen gave him."

"Hang on, she gave you a book?"

"She talked to you?"

Suddenly Bucky wasn't the only one with his flashlight out. He found himself caught in the beams of about a half dozen from all over the bunkhouse.

"Yeah, she did. Told me it was her favorite," Bucky said, unable to keep a little bit of pride out of his voice.

Someone scoffed. "Bet it's something stupid and romantic. Girly stuff…"

"It's Jekyll and Hyde," Bucky snapped back. There was a low whistle from the other side of the bunkhouse.

"Wow. The Ice Queen's a little messed up in the head if that's her favorite, isn't she?"

Bucky knew that voice. He scowled into the darkness and shone his flashlight across the row. "Watch your mouth, Chuck," he warned.

"Yeah, we all know what happens if you cross his little girlfriend," Tommy sniggered from the bunk below him. "Barnes'll come after you like he did John."

"She ain't my girl," Bucky said quickly. He wanted her to be, though. That was why he was trying to get through this book. He knew that Josie Ealum was ridiculously smart, she was pretty, and she was well-educated. He couldn't figure out why she talked to him, some random guy from Brooklyn who had to scrounge to pay rent.

"Yeah, but you want her to be," Patrick countered quickly. Bucky grinned.

"Who wouldn't?"

* * *

I came out of the lab for the night and wasn't even surprised to see Bucky standing there waiting for me. He did this a lot, escorting me to and from the lab when he wasn't going through training. He smiled when he saw me coming and offered his arm. I took it, smiling as I tried to subtly inhale the storm-scent that surrounded him. It made me dizzy and made my mouth water embarrassingly.

"So I've been reading that book you lent me," Bucky began

"Have you?" I asked eagerly. "Do you like it?"

"Well," Bucky frowned thoughtfully, "it took me a while to figure out what was going on. It's a little…"

"Old?" I supplied. He nodded.

"But it's a little crazy. I mean, thinking about a person with that kind of monster inside? Sounds like the plot from some horror flick."

I felt like someone had just punched me in the chest, but I forced myself not to stop, not to say anything. Instead I lowered my eyes to the ground.

"Ah. Right. Horrifying," I agreed faintly.

"I mean I like the book," Bucky said hastily. I looked up and saw that he was looking down at me worriedly. I smiled wryly. He thought he'd offended me. He had a little, but not for the reason he thought.

"It's fine, it's not for everyone," I said, plastering a smile on my face.

"I haven't finished it – like I said, it's a little hard to get through – but I think it's a pretty interesting story so far."

My smile was a little more genuine at that. "That's good. This is me," I said, nodding in the direction of my quarters.

"Alright then, I'll leave you here," Bucky said. I let go of his arm and turned to face him. "I'll see you around, right Belle?"

He was looking a little concerned, like he thought I was upset with him. I was a little less than pleased with how he'd reacted to Jekyll and Hyde, but I couldn't honestly say I didn't expect it. It hurt a little, but I didn't blame him.

I nodded, smiling at him in reassurance. "I'll be here."

Bucky's shoulders sagged, relieved. "Good," he beamed. "And hey, try and deliver some papers to Brooklyn after I'm gone."

"I will," I chuckled, and opened the door of my barracks, stepping inside. I saw Peggy sitting at her desk, calmly going through reports. Her eyes were fixed on me knowingly.

"Not. A. Word."

"I didn't say anything."

* * *

 **I'm decent at basic French and Spanish so I'm pretty confident on these.**

 **Parlez-vous français? – Do you speak French?**

 **Bonjour, j'mapelle Josie – Hello, my name is Josie.**

 **Et toi? – And you?**

 **Habla español? – Do you speak Spanish?**

 **Un poco – A little**


	11. Chimera

Chapter 11: Chimera

The lab was oddly loud. It was easy to tell why. The chemists had solved a major problem with the serum and everyone was delighted. That meant we could move on to testing it on mice and, hopefully, from there, to humans. The chemists had clocked out a few hours before for a decent night's sleep for the first time in weeks and the rest of us were happily chatting about the development. A second wind had been blown into the project.

I erased a section of my chalkboard and substituted some values, working through the problem and checking them. I scowled at the result. It still wasn't working and I was not looking forward to our next status report. I hadn't accomplished much in the past few days and Worth and Campbell would undoubtedly lay into me for it.

I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

This was no good. I was distracted, far too distracted. It was time to just start trying things. I moved towards one of the lab tables, picking up a pair of safety goggles as I went. I put myself in a meditative state as I mixed chemicals, observing outcomes and hoping for something that would spark an idea.

I mixed one combination and carried it over to the station where a large black light hung, not really thinking as I flicked the light on and placed a test tube stand inside. I was adjusting the tube in the stand when I heard someone yell.

"Holy shit!"

I stood up sharply and looked around, wondering what had just happened. A pair of grad students were standing not too far away, both of them staring at me in disbelief.

"What?" I asked blankly, looking down to see if I had something on me. The black light illuminated me from the side, falling on my exposed hands. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, _that."_

The two grad students hustled over to me, looking fascinated. Several others from around the lab who had heard the shout drifted over as well, curious.

"I didn't imagine that, right?" asked one of them, a black-haired boy with an oversized nose. His name was James and his friend was named, of all things, Orion.

"No, you didn't," I sighed and thrust my hand back under the black light. They clustered around me on either side, looking at my hands in interest.

"Come here, Knightley, you've gotta see this!" Orion called over his shoulder, gesturing to one of the other chemists. The others took that as their cue, closing in around me from all sides. I shucked my lab coat, revealing my bare arms. It was hot and I was in short sleeves for the day. I handed the coat off and thrust out my arms.

The scientists around me exclaimed in surprise and looked in interest as I turned my hands this way and that under the light, letting them get a good look.

"What's going on over here?" It was Erskine come to see what had half his staff gathered around under the black light. The men around me parted like the Red Sea as he approached. His eyes widened when he saw my arms and he looked up at me sharply.

"Blaschko's lines," he murmured. "You're a chimera!"

The faint lines on my skin were revealed under UV light like the kind that came from a black light. That's what had surprised the grad students and that's what had attracted everyone else's curiosity. It wasn't often that you saw a chimera, and rarely did you get one under a black light.

A chimera, simply put, was a single person who had the cells of two different people making up their bodies. It didn't happen very often in humans. But when placed under black light, patterns became visible on the skin of some chimera. They followed Blaschko's lines across the body and, in some cases, they looked like tiger stripes. That's how I ended up with the nickname Tigress as a child.

"Well this explains your interest in human mutation," Erskine said, attracting a couple of laughs from the other scientists. He waved his hands at them. "Go on, back to work."

AS they dispersed, I pulled my lab coat back on. Erskine peered around me to look at my test tube. He frowned when he saw the contents. "What were you trying to accomplish over here?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged helplessly. "Something? I don't know, I just can't make the formulae work the way I want them to. I was hoping something would hit me if I just… fiddled."

Erskine shook his head. "Never just fiddle," he chided. "You're burning yourself out – you're usually here later than most everyone else is. Take a couple of hours off," he recommended. "Clear your mind and come back with a clean slate."

I shook my head immediately. "No, I want to stay and-"

"If you stay, you'll keep _fiddling_ with your formulae until they don't make any sense anymore," Erskine said nodding at my chalkboard. I had to admit that he had a point there. If I stayed I'd just keep erasing and plugging values in at random and hoping for the best. That wouldn't do anything for anyone.

"Maybe you're right," I allowed, shucking my lab coat once more. I smiled at Erskine. "Thank you, Abraham."

Erskine held up his hands innocently. "I did nothing."

I smirked slightly. "Of course."

Erskine winked at me. "Go. Enjoy some free time."

"Thank you, sir," I said, inclining my head to him as I passed and headed for the door. I saw Worth shoot me an unimpressed look as I left the lab, but I ignored him. I didn't need him in my head.

I glanced down at my watch. The timing was perfect. I hustled through camp to my quarters and shucked my normal clothes, putting on looser clothes that I could move in and trading my skirt and heels for pants and sneakers. Keeping to the gaps between buildings so as not to attract much attention I made my way back through the camp and slid into a building.

I breathed a sigh of relief. The gym where Peggy and I had our spar so long ago was empty, just as I'd hoped it would be. There was a large boxing ring in the middle and scattered around it were weights and medicine balls for training. I was far more interested in the punching bags hanging in one corner of the room.

I approached one, pulling tape from within the pockets of my pants. Moving slowly and carefully I taped over my knuckles and my fingers to protect them.

Hands safe, I approached one of the punching bags and took a stance, raising my hands in front of my face protectively. I jabbed with my right, then with my left, then twice again with my right. I lost myself in the pounding of my fists on the bag as I worked out every bit of tension and worry I had in me.

Missing Granny Nevade? A couple of right hooks.

Annoyed at my step-mother? Some quick snap kicks.

Worried about Yori? Some punches and a few elbow-strikes.

My father took more effort, a flurry of jumping kicks with a few spins thrown in for flair.

The serum was a series of spinning kicks that left my legs looking like a propeller.

Bucky?

My rhythm stuttered. Bucky… I didn't want to think of him over there. But he was leaving soon, and then he'd be off to the European Theater, and after that… who knew what would happen to him?

With a wild cry, I swung my right hand at the punching bag, forcing every bit of energy I could down my arm. A gush of sand poured out of the bag and gathered around my shoes as I panted. The bag swung sadly as the last few bits of sand poured out of four long rents in the canvas.

I sagged, feeling pleasantly wrung out a weary as I stared at the tattered remains of the canvas punching bag. I looked down at my right hand, flexing and curling my fingers. The tape on that hand was shredded, strips hanging down from the rest. I smiled humorlessly.

I was a chimera. If only that were all.

()()()()()()()()()

"Belle!"

I whipped around, torn between happiness and sadness as I saw Bucky jogging closer to me. It was his last day on base. I couldn't help but be a little sad. I knew that I would likely see him the next time I went to Brooklyn, but I knew I would miss hearing someone shout "Belle!" and look up to see Bucky wave as he jogged past with a bunch of recruits. I'd miss him letting me rant for a while about Worth while he just sat and listened. I'd miss him falling into step next to me when I walked back from the lab to my barracks at night. I'd miss a lot.

"Bucky."

For once he wasn't in his uniform. He was wearing a pair of slacks, a button-front blue shirt that made his eyes sparkle and a thin, dark tie that rested crookedly. He had a duffel bag thrown over his shoulder, but he dumped it by his feet as he came to a stop barely a foot from me. I was tall, but I had to look up to see his face with him this close.

"You're leaving," I said bluntly, but even I could hear the twinge of sadness in my voice.

"Yeah," Bucky said awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But you know where to find me. You'd better look me up on one of your secret missions to Brooklyn."

I smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

"And Belle? Would you… mind if I wrote you?"

I blinked. I wanted to say yes immediately, but I shouldn't. I knew I shouldn't, but I didn't want to give up whatever it was I had with Bucky. I looked up at him and saw his smile fading with every second I stayed silent, worry starting to cloud his face.

I steeled myself. Whatever happened, it was worth it.

I gave Bucky my brightest smile and nodded happily. Bucky grinned back at me and I tried to ignore the flip in my stomach.

"Good," he breathed, looking relieved. "That'll definitely brighten up my day."

"Mine too," I agreed, smile softening.

"Belle, I'm glad I met you." Bucky took a step closer. He was now nearly chest to chest with me. I tilted my head back, holding his gaze. I smiled at him shyly.

"I have to say I enjoyed meeting you as well," I admitted. Bucky smiled.

"Good." Then, quick as a flash, he bent down and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. I went stock still, my eyes popping wide and my jaw loosening. My heart started pounding and my stomach was doing a gymnastic routine. Bucky pulled back and seemed pleased by the stunned look on my face. He stepped back, picked up his bag, and tossed it over his shoulder.

"I'll see you around, Belle!" he called.

I came out of my stunned shock enough to smile and wave at his back as he walked away. Mentally I made a note to ask Erskine if I could go to Brooklyn soon.

"Well that was interesting."

I jerked around and saw Phillips and Peggy standing not too far away, a clipboard held between the pair of them. Both of them were staring at me though.

"Peggy, er, Colonel Phillips," I floundered, embarrassment making my cheeks bright red.

Peggy raised an eyebrow at me. "Just a recruit," she said pointedly.

"Are you going to be daydreaming instead of working now that you've got a fella?" Phillips asked sternly.

I groaned. "Please don't. He's not my fella, he's just a… a friend."

Phillips turned to Peggy. "I don't usually kiss my friends, what about you, Carter?"

"I don't believe I do either, sir."

I groaned louder and buried my face in my hands.

* * *

 **Explanation: This is kind of what sparked this story - wondering how other mutations would interact with Marvel mutations. Hence Josie's chimerism. And I'm not a geneticist, so anything that's not correct - put it down to comic book logic, m'kay?**


	12. Letters

Chapter 12: Letters

Steve and Bucky sat outside of the movie theater, a mostly-empty bucket of popcorn sitting on the bench between them. Steve was picking out the bits in the bottom, tossing them on the ground and slowly accumulating a pigeon army.

Bucky couldn't have cared less. He was totally absorbed in the piece of paper held in his hands.

 _Bucky,_

 _I hope you're enjoying being home, I know I would be. I'm a bit jealous, to be honest. I haven't been home in almost a year._

 _Thankfully life here has been a little bit better. I'm no longer getting invited to someone's barracks for a 'chat' every couple of days. I blame you for that entirely, and bless you for doing it. I don't know if it was that stunt right before you left or if people are afraid you'll pop out of nowhere and beat them blue if they make a pass at me._

 _You got into a lot more fights than I ever knew, didn't you? I wish you hadn't, but I'm touched all the same._

 _Not to say that everything is better. Worth is still Worth and Campbell is still Campbell, meaning they're still looking down their noses at me every chance they get and telling me to get their coffee. I'm half-tempted to do it just so I can toss it in his face. I swear, I'd have decked that man by now if I didn't have so much self-control. It makes it better though, knowing I have you in my corner along with Erskine and Peggy. Worth and Campbell can't hold a candle to you all._

 _Did I tell you about their latest attempt to get rid of me? They took one of my notebooks and were going to give an idea of mine to Erskine as their own. It backfired quite a bit – I write my notes in German. Not only is it easier on Erskine, but it prevents that exact thing from happening, because I'm the only one in the lab who's truly fluent. The look on their faces was wonderful, I wish you could have seen it._

 _Give Steve my best._

He'd read the letter through three times since he'd gotten it that morning. The closing was Bucky's favorite part _. Jo_ was written, only to be crossed out and replaced with _Belle_. It made him smile every time he saw it.

He found the letter itself funny as well. It was written on stationary bordered in roses in pink and green pastel. He very much suspected that the stationary had been a gift, because he couldn't imagine Josie buying something like that for herself. She'd be more likely to pick something practical and pretty than floral and floaty. That was just her style – pretty but practical.

"Who's the letter from?" Steve asked, unable to stand the curiosity anymore.

"Belle," Bucky said, smiling at the signature once more. Steve stared at him blankly.

"Belle… Belle Taylor, from three blocks over?"

Bucky shook his head. "No, Josie."

Steve's eyes widened in understanding. "From the base! Yeah, I met her a couple weeks ago."

"I know, she told me." Bucky smirked at him knowingly. "Still getting in fights, huh? She said she had to fix your nose for you."

"Yeah, she did a good job," Steve said, touching the bridge of his nose. It was still straight, with no sign that it had ever been broken. He looked at Bucky pointedly. "She said you'd been in your fair share of fights, too."

"Yeah," Bucky admitted sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "Mostly shutting up the bastards that kept shooting their mouths off about Belle."

"Why do you call her that, anyway?" Steve asked curiously, tossing a handful of popcorn bits out. His pigeon army grew by two members.

Normally Bucky didn't have a problem talking to Steve about the girls in his life. But with Belle, it was different. He wanted to keep the little things between them. It made him feel a little guilty about keeping things from Steve – he'd never done it before – but at the same time, he liked having that private thing between them.

"No reason," Bucky said with a shrug.

"You know it's French for beauty, right?" Steve asked wryly. Bucky laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe that's why I do it, because she gives me this little shy smile and bites her lip every time I call her that. Don't even think she realizes she does it."

Steve stared at him, shaking his head in amusement. "You really are smitten, aren't you?"

Bucky smiled. "Steve, I'm gonna marry that girl."

Steve stared at him in surprise. "What?"

"I mean it!" Bucky insisted, throwing out an arm and catching Steve by the shoulders, pulling him slightly off balance. Steve's floundering foot sent the pigeons flying into the air in a rush of feathers. "I'm gonna marry Josie Ealum one day."

* * *

 _Belle,_

 _Steve says hello, and thanks again for the patch job. He's glad you kept him from having a bump in his nose. I told him it might have improved his face a little. The little punk took a swing at me for that one. Can't be mad, I deserved it._

 _You caught me, I was in a couple more fights that you didn't know about. Always defending your honor though Belle, always._

 _I've told you not to worry about Worth and Campbell. They're just jealous that you can do their jobs better than they can when you're half their age and twice as pretty. One day they'll be coming to you, asking you to explain those theories of yours. You can have the last laugh then._

 _Far be it from me to stop you from tossing coffee in their faces though. Just make sure you've got a camera ready. You're right, I'd like to see their faces._

 _They should have known better than to try and pull something on you. You're the smartest person I've ever met; I'm not surprised you write your notes in another language. One of these days you're gonna have to teach me some German. I like the idea of writing to you in a way no one can understand. It'd keep Steve from teasing me about it._

 _Hope to see you soon, Belle._

 _Bucky_

 _P.S. Who gave you the stationary?_

I smiled at the post script. I wasn't surprised that Bucky had figured out the stationary was a gift. It was from my step-mother. I wasn't a fan of the pastel roses, but I figured I might as well use it instead of wasting it. Thankfully, I'd almost run through the whole set on letters to Bucky and my family.

I was pleased that Steve's nose healed alright, and I was glad Bucky was enjoying himself. Giving the letter one last scan, I tug into my shoulder bag, pulling out a piece of stationary and a pen to compose a response.

My hand snapped up, catching Howard's before he could swipe Bucky's latest letter. He had developed a bad habit of stealing my correspondence. I looked up at Howard, smiling sweetly. He blinked down at me.

"You got some reflexes Josie," he whistled, impressed. I let his hand go and tucked Bucky's letter inside my bag along with the stationary. If Howard was here, then it was time to get down to business.

"Are you seeing other men, Josie?" Howard pouted as I stood up. "Does this mean we have to end our torrid affair?"

I scoffed. Howard's flirting didn't bother me so much because I knew he wasn't serious. It was all in good fun. Really, that was a great description of Howard in general - all in good fun. Now that Bucky was gone, I enjoyed my time in the Brooklyn lab far more than my time at Camp Lehigh, if only because Howard made things so much more entertaining. It was fascinating listening to his stream of consciousness as he tried to figure out a mechanical issue or work out some other problem.

"Regretfully so," I replied drily. "Come on, Erskine wants your opinion on these figures by tonight."

"I know, I know," Howard sighed, flopping into the chair next to me and leaning it back, propping his feet up on the table. I seized the file and propped it open on his stomach, starting to read. "Where are we with the exploding problem?"

I winced. We were having much the same problem with the serum as expected – the body wasn't shifting all at once. Muscles and bones grew faster than skin, damaging it and occasionally ripping the test subject apart.

Since we'd started testing on rats, there had been more than one lab assistant who spent his evening clearing rat organs from inside a tank.

"Nothing so far," I sighed. "If we could regulate the muscle growth while stimulating skin renewal, then we'd be golden. The only problem is-"

"How to do it," Howard nodded, scowling at the figures in front of him.

We'd had some success. A few of the rats who came through the procedure seemed faster or stronger than before. Unfortunately, most of them were also so deformed that they didn't last more than a day or two after being injected with the serum sample. Our projections for the subject surviving were somewhere hovering at about thirty-three percent. We needed at least eighty before we could move on to human testing.

I kept it to myself that I had a few ideas on how to solve 'the exploding problem' as it had come to be known. The problem was it wasn't my secret to share, or at least, not just my own. I wasn't looking forward to the day when I'd have to decide whether or not to start spilling some of my secrets to Erskine and Howard.

"We're not as far along as we hoped, but we're not as far behind as we worried we would be," Howard said, tossing the file aside as he finished it. He rubbed his eyes wearily. "All in all it could be worse."

"But it could be better," I said, summing up the general feeling of everyone involved in the project.

"Exactly," he sighed. "Well, we could try using Vita-Rays? That might speed up the cell replication in the skin just enough to get us some wiggle room."

I nodded thoughtfully. "That could work. We'd have to find a way to contain it though…"

Howard lunged for a notepad and a pencil and started scribbling. Curious, I stood up and moved to crouch behind his shoulder, watching as he began to rough out a basic blueprint for a containment capsule.

"And here, an air-tight seal," he said, gesturing to a point near the top of the capsule. "If we line it with lead, that should contain the Vita-Rays."

"If we do that, how much power would we need? Can we even generate that kind of energy?"

Howard started scribbling in the margin of his drawing, figuring out power inputs. When he was done, the circled number at the bottom of the page was alarmingly large. I frowned.

"Even with the power from Brooklyn, can we manage that?" I asked curiously.

"Barely!" Howard said triumphantly. "It may dim the lights, but we can. The only problem is we'd need something strong enough to handle that kind of power. There's nothing like that right now. I'd have to…" He flipped the page over and began feverishly sketching, mumbling about percentages and insulators under his breath.

I stepped back, smiling. Howard had officially slipped into what I called 'mad scientist mode.' He was lost to the world inside his head, swimming in data and designs. He wouldn't be coming out of it for a while, it history was anything to go by.

"Howard, I'm going to go," I called. He didn't flinch, just mumbled something about capacitors and flipped the page so vigorously he nearly ripped it off.

Smiling slightly and shaking my head I gathered my bag and tossed it over my shoulder, leaving Howard to his work. I nodded to the MPs who were on hand to guard the lab. With a quick password entered on the keypad, the bookcase slid open and I entered the antique shop.

"Evening, Mary," I called politely as I left. Mary nodded at me from behind the counter, the jingling overhead as I left.

I started down the sidewalk, taking my time. I'd taken the train into the city this time, so I didn't have a car to meet. It was nice to have time to peer around and see what there was near the lab. A shoe-shiner, a hair dresser, a second-hand clothing store, a diner…

"Belle."

I jerked, whipping around in surprise. Bucky was there, stepping out of the recessed entry to the diner and beaming at me like he'd just won the lottery. Steve poked his head out from behind Bucky, grinning too.

"Bucky," I said in surprise. "Steve."

"Didn't even see me?" Bucky pouted, stepping out of the diner door and approaching. "I'm hurt, Josie."

I smiled back. "Somehow I think you'll survive."

"I dunno, his pride might not be able to take it," Steve said drily, moving to Bucky's side. "He's delicate, you know."

"Yeah, right, I'm the delicate one, you punk," Bucky said, looping his arm around Steve and pulling him into a loose headlock, ruffling his hair.

"Jerk," Steve said fondly, shoving him off. I watched the two of them. It was easy to tell they were best friends. They seemed so close, it was really heartwarming. It was also heart-wrenching, in a way. It made me miss my own best friend.

"What's with the sad-eye Josie?" Bucky asked, looking at me with concern. "Things not going well on your top secret project?"

I shook my head. "No it's not that, it's actually going well. Just, seeing you two… Well, I miss my best friend," I explained with a self-conscious shrug.

Steve tilted his head. "Doesn't your project give you time off? Couldn't you pop by a visit, even if it's just for a day?"

I laughed darkly. "Steve, my best friend's name is Yori Tsukuda. She's not in the country." My throat tightening, I admitted, "I don't even know if she's still alive."

"Don't think like that, Belle," Bucky said, placing his hands on my shoulders. I tilted my head back to look at him. "Anybody who's friends with you had to be pretty resilient. I bet your friend's doing just fine."

I refused to allow myself to sulk, not when I was with company. I was lowering the tone. I smiled up at Bucky. "I'm trying to decide if that was a compliment or not."

Bucky grinned. "Compliment, definitely compliment."

His hands were large and warm on my shoulders, holding tightly but tenderly. I could smell the scent of a storm coming off of him. It was comforting and electrifying all at once. I wanted to tuck my face into his wrist and breathe deeply. It was entirely too tempting a prospect.

"Steve," Bucky announced suddenly. "It's almost lunch time. What do you say we give Josie the grand tour of Brooklyn cuisine?"

Steve grinned. "Sounds good. Annette's?"

Bucky nodded. "Annette's."

Bucky kept one hand on my shoulder, tucking me against his side as he turned and walked towards the diner he'd just popped out of. Steve followed. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him stifling laughter at Bucky. I couldn't bring myself to mind though. I was too busy basking in Bucky's scent. It was making my head a little dizzy.

Bucky guided me to a booth near the back and sat down, sliding in next to me and leaving Steve to sit across from us. His arm stayed draped across the back of the bench behind my shoulders. I smiled slightly. Normally I would have seen the gesture as possessive, but on Bucky, he just looked relaxed and content.

A waitress approached us in a mint-green uniform.

"You boys are back," she drawled, popping her gum. "The usual for you both?"

Bucky and Steve were apparently regulars, because they nodded. The waitress scribbled down an order on her notepad and then nodded to me. "And for you, miss?"

I opened my mouth, but Bucky caught me up. "Give her the same thing I get," he said. The waitress nodded, scribbled down a note, and moved off. I turned to Bucky, raising an eyebrow pointedly and shooting him the stink eye.

"I can order for myself," I said tartly. Bucky held up his hands innocently.

"I know, Josie, I know. But this place has the best burgers in Brooklyn, you haven't lived until you've had one."

I continued to give him a stern look, but I knew it wasn't doing much good as my lips started to curl into a smile against my will. Bucky nudged me teasingly.

"Am I forgiven, Miss Ealum?"

I gave in and let myself smile at him. "You are, Sergeant Barnes."

Bucky blinked in surprise. "You've heard?"

I nodded. "I'm still on base, remember?"

I didn't add that I'd only heard because Colonel Phillips had not-so-subtly mentioned it in front of me one day and then looked at me like he was waiting for a show to start.

"Yeah, Bucky mentioned you were working on some top-secret project," Steve recalled. "What are you doing?"

I gave Bucky another look. "People aren't supposed to know," I said sternly.

"I just told Steve," he defended himself.

Shaking my head and sighing, I explained, "I signed a confidentiality agreement. _You_ shouldn't even know I'm involved."

"Here you go," the waitress said, appearing suddenly with our meals. She placed the plates in front of us accompanied by a couple of sodas and chirped, "Enjoy your meal!" before moving off to take the order of a couple of men in suits who had walked in.

"Well?" Bucky said, nodding encouragingly towards the large burger in front of me. It was thick, and I wondered if I'd even be able to get it in my mouth. Even Steve was watching in interest, like he wasn't quite sure if I'd go for it or not.

I was never one to back down from a challenge.

"Here goes nothing," I announced, and picked up the burger. I had to stretch my jaw to fit it in my mouth, but I managed, taking a larger bite than was strictly lady-like. I chewed, my cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk. Bucky was right, it was delicious.

I swallowed and agreed, "It's good!"

"Told you," Bucky said smugly, and started on his own.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think about incorporating other perspectives into this story! I think I'm going to do it more often, I feel like it makes the story a little more cohesive.**


	13. Modern Marvels

Chapter 13: Modern Marvels

"If I didn't think you'd deck me, I'd kiss you."

I laughed as Howard took me by the hand and twirled me. I wore a light-blue dress with a black belt and a little Peter Pan collar. My hair was up in victory curls and my lips were bright red. I was a bit more dressed up than usual, but tonight was a night for celebration, after all.

We were at the Modern Marvels for Tomorrow exhibition. Howard had booked Erskine and I rooms in a local hotel for two reasons. One, because he'd finally gotten something together that could handle the power we needed and wanted to show it off, and two, because wanted to show off his exhibit.

I was pretty sure that ninety-eight percent of everything Howard did was for the purpose of showing off.

"You don't look bad yourself," I said, nodding to Howard.

 _This_ was the man from the paper, dressed to the nines in an elegant tux and Italian shoes. His hair was swept back under a top hat and a red carnation was pinned to his lapel. I could see myself in the reflection on his shoes.

"Do I ever?" Howard said, fluffing his collar cockily.

Erskine was watching the pair of us in amusement. He was dressed as he usually was, in an alarming amount of tweed, his fedora settled on his head and his glasses gleaming under all the lights of Howard's backstage dressing room. A file was tucked under his arm, which he quickly passed over to Howard.

"Thanks for this," Howard said, lifting the file pointedly. He dropped it unto a briefcase on the desk and shut the top, tapping a series of numbers on the keypad on top. "Prototype," Howard said smugly. "If you try to open it without the code then it sets off a charge inside, destroys everything _including_ the would-be thief's hands."

"Charming," I said drily. "And I consider it a good day if my briefcase stays latched."

Howard shook his head. "That's just sad, Josie. Erskine, I think that's all the business we had planned for tonight. You still planning to check the recruiting office?"

Erskine nodded. "Ja. Who knows, maybe my perfect subject will be there? Enjoy the night off, Fraulein Josie," he added with a smile. I nodded to him.

"Gute nacht."

Erskine nodded and left the dressing room, off to hunt for his perfect experiment. Now that the rats were doing better we were starting to gear up for human testing. Howard's Vita-Ray chamber was almost done. All we needed now was a test subject, and Erskine had become fanatical about scanning the files of new recruits.

"Now, I have to go out there and present my genius, but after I'm done here, drinks back at the hotel?" Howard offered. "My treat."

"Well if it's your treat how could I say no?" I snorted.

"Good!" Howard said grandly. "Now go, have fun, enjoy the night! Just don't forget to come see my presentation," he added, brandishing a finger sternly.

"I would never," I assured him before leaving the dressing room. I dodged around one of the chorus girls, who was charging down the hallway frantically calling for her hat. I gratefully emerged into the cooler air of the exposition and peered around, looking for something to catch my interest.

I bought some cotton candy and began to wander, placing small bites in my mouth and letting them dissolve on my tongue. It had been a long time since I last had cotton candy. The State Fair nearly a decade ago, I realized as I read the placard in front of some new engine that would supposedly use less gas.

I peered into a few more exhibits, listening curiously as inventors and investors bragged about how they would change the world with their devices and discoveries. Privately I was skeptical on a lot of these ever coming to fruition – they seemed pretty out there – but then again I couldn't really judge, could I?

I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was getting close to time for Howard's presentation. I placed the last of the cotton candy in my mouth and tossed the stick into a trashcan, making my way through the crowd toward the stage. It was already getting crammed; Howard's displays were the most highly-anticipated of the whole expo.

I slipped around a couple and ducked under the arm of a man who was balancing his son on his shoulders, accidentally bumping shoulders with some skinny kid with a bag of cracker jack in his hand.

"Oh sorry, I- Steve?"

"Josie?"

I blinked at Steve in surprise before breaking into a wide smile. "It's good to see you," I said earnestly, but my eyes were darting here and there. If Steve was here than it was very likely that he had Bucky in tow.

"You too, Josie," Steve said warmly. "Although I get the feeling _I'm_ not the one you're looking for."

I flushed at being caught looking and Steve shook his head, laughing. "I'll take you to him." He offered me his arm.

"I promised Howard I'd make his presentation," I said hesitantly, nodding in the direction of the stage. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing you can't tell me why you're on a first-name basis with Howard Stark of all people?" Steve ventured wryly. I shook my head sheepishly. "Well that's where our dates dragged us anyway."

"Dates," I repeated, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. "I don't want to bother you then-"

Steve looked up at me. "Trust me, Josie, he'll _want_ to see you," he promised.

"But then why-"

"Probably more for my sake," Steve admitted, an embarrassed flush staining his cheeks. "Connie wouldn't come unless Bucky agreed to go with her friend."

"Ah," I nodded in understanding, trying not to let on how relieved I was.

I wasn't stupid. I knew I was carrying a torch for Bucky, and I knew he had some kind of feelings for me. But it couldn't happen for a lot of reasons. I was a scientist who'd be staying here and he was a soldier, probably shipping out soon, he may not even come back…

I swallowed the lump in my throat at that idea and Steve released my arm, moving to stand between a blonde and a brunette and nodding in the direction of a familiar back dressed in uniform.

"Excuse me sir, but I can't see."

Bucky moved so fast you'd have thought someone yelled 'fire.' His eyes widened and a delighted grin spread across his face as he saw me. I smiled back. His uniform looked perfect, his tie straight and the buttons shiny, but his hat was tilted to the side. It was so very _Bucky._

"Belle," he greeted me eagerly. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, Howard wanted me to see his exhibition," I said, nodding to the stage. "And then I ran into a mutual friend of ours," I said, nodding to Steve, who winked at Bucky. "He thought I might like to say hello. Hello," I finished shyly.

Bucky smiled down at me warmly. "Hello Belle," he said. "It's… _damn_ it's good to see you." His voice was a little lower, a little more breathless than usual, and if I looked closer, I could see a little bit of _something_ flicker in his eyes.

"You too," I said replied, cocking my head. I squinted at Bucky and asked suspiciously, "What's going on?"

Bucky opened his mouth hastily, like he was about to brush it off with a 'nothing,' then closed his mouth and shrugged.

"I got my orders. I'm shipping out to England tomorrow morning," he said softly. "I'm just… glad I got to see you again."

I knew the same thought was running through both our heads, that this might be the last time we _ever_ saw each other. I resisted the urge to hug him tightly and start cooing platitudes. It wasn't appropriate, and it wouldn't be right, not for Bucky.

I smiled slightly. "Well I'll have to start making more progress on my project. End the war, get you home."

Bucky smiled widely. "You'd end the war just for me, Josie? That's awfully sweet of you."

"Yes, well." I pinched my lips together, fighting back a smile. "Steve would miss you if you're gone too long."

"Ouch," Bucky laughed, clapping a hand to his heart. "You know how to break a guy's heart, Josie."

I smiled slightly. We were back to Josie, and I'd figured out the pattern. Belle was only for special occasions. When we were alone or when he was trying to get my attention or comfort me, occasionally in front of Steve. Out here in public I was Josie, but I knew that that the minute we stepped out of the public eye I'd be Belle again. It was…

Sweet.

"Hey Josie?" Bucky said as the music began to play, signaling the start of Howard's demo. "After this is over, you mind going for a walk with me? I wanna ask you something."

"Of course," I promised him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Howard Stark!"

I watched as the showgirls in their skimpy shorts and top hats pranced on stage in front of a cherry red car. The carnations on their lapels matched the one I'd seen on Howard's chest earlier that night.

My shoulder warmed as Bucky placed a hand on it, gently guiding me in front of him so that I could see better. Once again I had to resist the urge to deeply inhale the scent coming off his wrist, but I _had_ to steal a quick sniff.

The girl doing the announcing traded the microphone for Howard's hat as he trotted on stage. Howard wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her into a firm kiss before letting her twirl away with the rest of the chorus line.

Howard wiped any traces of lipstick off his mouth with a handkerchief and began. "Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?"

The crowd gasped as the chorus line lifted away the tires from the car, revealing some kind of gleaming metal contraption bolted on underneath.

"With Stark gravitic reversion technology, you'll be able to do just that!"

Howard turned a dial on a small control board and flipped a switch. With a hum the things replacing the tires came to life and the car began slowly to lift off the ground, hovering in midair. The crowd gasped, awed, and applauded wildly.

"Holy cow," I heard Bucky breathe behind me, and I grinned. I sometimes forgot I was working with one of the brightest minds of the century. It was easy to forget Howard was a smart as he was when I had walked into the lab more than once to find he'd blown himself or someone else up fiddling with the wiring on some random machine.

The machine in the front right tire's spot began to short. The car suddenly lost its stability and crashed to the ground in a burst of sparks and smoke. The crowd gasped and cried out, recoiling from the stage, but we were all still impressed. The thing had _hovered_.

Howard leaned on the car in feigned casualty. "I did say a few years, didn't I?" he managed to get out.

I laughed. "Oh, I'm not going to let him forget this one for a while."

"It was impressive while it lasted though," Bucky said with a whistle. I turned around to face him.

"I was supposed to go for drinks with Howard," I explained. "Give me a second to tell him I'll be late and then we can go for that walk, alright?"

"I'll meet you beside the stage," Bucky said, and I slipped away into the crowd.

The burly man guarding the backstage area recognized me form earlier and let me pass without a fuss. I made my way through a giddy cluster of chorus girls to Howard's dressing room and opened the door to find the man himself flopped in a chair with his arm thrown over his eyes.

"Well that was really impressive," I announced, shutting the door behind me.

Howard groaned. "I don't need you trying to make me feel better, Josie, I need a strong drink and a peer group."

I winced. "Well then I have bad news. I'm going to be a little late on those drinks."

Howard sat up, looking at me pleadingly. "Josie, I _need_ you to throw ideas around with me and keep me from getting so drunk I can't get back to my room."

"Howard, I'm not a mechanic," I explained gently. "And I ran into a friend out there. He's shipping off tomorrow and he said he wanted to talk to me."

"Ooh." Howard's eyes immediately lit up teasingly. "Well then, don't let me keep you from your midnight rendezvous, eh Josie?"

I rolled my eyes. "Howard, you're ridiculous."

"I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

Shaking my head I left the dressing room and made my way back to the side of the stage where Bucky was waiting, his hands in his pockets and his hat still tilted jauntily on his head. He smiled when he saw me coming and offered me his arm.

"Everything squared away?" he asked. I reached up and tilted his hat back into place.

"Now it is."

Bucky immediately tipped his hat back the way it was and grinned at me slyly. I shook my head, smothering a smile. I had never seen Bucky with his uniform on properly and I got the feeling that I never would if he had anything to say about it.

"Where did you want to go on this walk?" I asked Bucky, taking his arm. We started walking through the exhibits. I looked up and saw Bucky's eyes darting around curiously. He wasn't a scientist by any stretch of the imagination but he seemed to really appreciate the displays around him.

"There's a little park not far from here, it's usually pretty quiet at night. Figured we'd head there."

I nodded and let Bucky guide me out of the expo and down the street. The sidewalk was filled with people bustling to and from the show. Families towing along two or three children and couples walking with entwined hands moved around us.

The crowd lessened as we turned down a side street. It was starting to get dark, and the streetlights cast pools of light around us. I shivered slightly. It was starting to get colder. I wasn't looking forward to winter in Brooklyn. I barely survived shivering my way through a Kentucky winter.

"Cold?" Bucky asked me, having noticed the shiver.

"New York's colder than home," I explained. I wasn't entirely surprised when Bucky gently pulled his arm out of my grip and draped it around my shoulders, pulling my closer to his side. I blushed but huddled close to him for warmth. That smell… I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. It just wasn't fair that all Bucky had to do was stand close to me to set my head spinning.

"Here we are."

I opened my eyes. Bucky was right, the park wasn't much. A spread of grass with a couple benches scattered around, a fountain in the middle, and a slide and some swings to one side. It was empty except for an older couple sitting on a bench under a young tree, whispering among themselves.

I smiled slightly at the couple and let Bucky lead me over to the fountain. We sat on the edge of the wide base facing each other. I looked to the side and observed the statue in the middle of the fountain. I smiled slightly to see a woman in robes, a cornucopia of fruit in her arms and a maternal smile on her face.

"What is it?" Bucky asked, looking at the statue.

"Pompona," I said, nodding to the woman. Bucky stared at me.

"What?"

"It's Pompona," I explained, pointing to the cornucopia. "She was the Roman goddess of fruitful harvests, particularly for orchards and fruit trees. I just think it's a little funny that a goddess like her is in a place like this," I said, gesturing to the buildings all around us.

Bucky laughed lightly, shaking his head. "Belle, I keep spending time with you, I think I'm gonna learn more than I ever did in school."

"Ah." I dipped my head. "Sorry."

I had been called a know-it-all several times in my life. People at school back home didn't really appreciate it when I always knew the answer. It made them look bad. I remembered Peter getting fed up with me a time or two, following him around and blabbering random facts I'd read in the library that day. He locked me in the attic for it more than once, but stopped once he realized I'd just shimmy out the window and go tell dad on him.

"Don't be," Bucky insisted, tapping my chin lightly to get me to look up. "I could use a little more up here." He tapped his temple pointedly. I chuckled.

"I don't know," I disagreed. "I'm sure you know a lot of things I don't know. Like where to find the best burger in Brooklyn," I added, nudging his arm teasingly. Bucky laughed.

"I don't think I'm gonna end the war with that one." He sobered quickly. I frowned, looking at him.

Bucky wasn't a serious person. He never had been. He was all fun and teasing smiles and cracking jokes. To see him so uncomfortable and so grim… it wasn't right.

Boldly, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Bucky sighed. "I'm trying to decide if I have the right to ask you what I want to ask you."

I shook my head. "Bucky, just ask. You talking like this… you're starting to worry me, to be honest."

A faint flicker of Bucky's usual smile flickered across his face. "We can't have that, can we?" he mused softly. "Alright, here it goes. I want to ask if you'd mind looking out for Steve while I'm gone?"

I blinked. That wasn't what I'd expected. I thought he was worried about shipping out, fearful about going to the front… But no, that wasn't Bucky. Of course he would worry more about the people he cared about than himself, even if he was the one walking into a war zone.

Bucky kept going. "He's so determined to get into the Army, to go fight… It's crazy. You know he's tried to enlist multiple times? Five that I know of, probably more. He's lying about where he's from, which isn't exactly _legal_. Even if they take him, I don't know if he'd make it through basic, and god forbid he actually get shipped out… He's my best friend, has been since we were kids, and I don't like the idea of that punk getting himself in trouble or sitting around here sulking. I know you've got your secret meetings, but if you'd just stop by and check on him while you're in Brooklyn, let me know how he's doing? How he's _really_ doing, not how he _says_ he's doing." Bucky grabbed my hand, looking at me earnestly. "I'd really appreciate it Belle."

Even if I had planned to refuse to keep an eye on Steve, I wouldn't have been able to then. Not with Bucky calling me Belle and holding my hand and looking at me with his eyes so intense and so focused and so hopeful.

I laughed. "Bucky Barnes," I scolded. "You had me _so_ worried, and now I find out you just want me to visit with Steve every now and then?"

Bucky shifted, running a hand through his thick hair sheepishly. It still didn't muss it. "I know I was being a little dramatic, just… well, you don't owe me anything Belle."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't have to owe you anything to do you a favor, I'd do it out of the goodness of my heart. Besides, I like Steve," I admitted. "He's a good guy."

"You kidding me?" Bucky scoffed. "He's _the_ good guy."

I laughed along with him and glanced around the park. That older couple was still there, the woman leaning her head on her husbands' shoulder as he casually toyed with her fingers. They were murmuring to each other, the words carried to me on the wind. Sweet words, memories from how they met and how they got together.

"Belle, I've got another question I'd like to ask," Bucky said abruptly. I looked at him. His eyes were lingering on the couple too. He turned to look at me and asked, "Would you mind sending me a picture of you after I'm gone?"

My eyes widened. That was quite a thing to ask, especially coming from a soldier. But again I couldn't refuse him, not with him looking like that and the wind blowing his scent to me. I internally cursed myself. When had I gotten so soft that a pair of pretty blue eyes and a whiff of somebody could turn me into a pile of mush? I could practically hear my inner self snarling in distaste.

To hell with it. I liked Bucky, and if he wanted my picture, he could have it.

"I think that can be arranged," I replied quietly, looking down at my lap and fiddling with my fingers. I glanced up at him and gave a little grin. "So, anything else you want to do before you go, Sergeant?" I asked.

Bucky smiled back. "Well, I was planning on going dancing tonight…" he said leadingly.

"Were you?" I asked innocently. "That could be arranged."

Bucky stood up and offered me his hand. I took it with a smile and allowed him to tug me to my feet, pulling me into his arms. He placed a hand on my waist and I curled my free hand over his shoulder. He rocked us, making small, shuffling steps across the cobblestoned path around the fountain. I sighed and relaxed in his grip, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath of the night air.

My nose twitched. It wasn't the clean, pure air I was used to. It was riddled with pollution and city-smells, and I didn't like it nearly as much.

"What's that face for?" Bucky asked, having noticed. I opened my eyes and found him looking down at me. He gave a little spin, turning us around.

I shrugged self-consciously. This was Bucky's night, not mine. I wasn't going to dump my homesickness on him when he was about to go farther from home than I'd ever been.

"Nothing," I assured him. He looked skeptical, but gave me a little spin out anyway. I twirled out and back towards him. I noticed he pulled me a little closer than he had before and suppressed a smile at the idea. "It's just been a while since I danced with anyone."

"When was the last time?" Bucky asked curiously, dipping his chin to look down at me curiously.

I thought back. "Oh, it was probably… father and step-mother's wedding," I recalled, remembering getting passed between my cousins and uncle and twirled around the floor all night long. They apparently had some kind of game going.

I told Bucky all about it, how I was passed from smiling face to smiling face and they wouldn't let me stop dancing. I wasn't allowed to leave the dance floor the whole night until Claude finally took pity on me around midnight and sat me down, got me a drink, and rubbed my aching feet.

"Claude was always a sweetheart," I murmured. "He's over there now too."

Somehow while I'd talked I'd ended up with my head resting on Bucky's shoulder. We'd gone from dance steps to just swaying in the moonlight by the fountain. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I hadn't felt this at peace in quite a long time. It was always scrambling for an answer for the serum, always dodging around the heavily-populated areas of camp. I hadn't taken the time to stop and _breathe_ in a while.

"If I see an Ealum, I'll let them know your send your love," Bucky offered. "Least I can do since you agreed to babysit Steve for me." I felt his chest rumble with a soft chuckle before I actually heard it.

"I'd appreciate that. I'm sorry I pulled you away from your date," I apologized, although I knew that deep down I really wasn't. This had been the best night I'd had in a long while and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Don't be, Belle, this is better than what I had planned for the night."

The best part was that I couldn't hear a lie. He really meant it. Bucky was glad he'd come out here with me, that we'd talked and laughed and danced. He enjoyed it just like I did. It made my heart flip and I had the sinking feeling that I was already in farther than I'd thought.


	14. The Subject

**Okay guys, I'm going to get a little personal here. I've been one of the smartest people in the room my whole life. Quantifiably, I am a genius. That's not bragging, that's telling the truth. I've had my IQ tested. Not saying what it is, but I am a genius. I've never had difficulty in school. I have put in minimal effort and consistently made As and Bs.**

 **This is why it is incredibly distressing to me when I can't understand something. I have cried exactly three times in my entire school career over not understanding my homework. Two of them were in elementary school. One of them was tonight. I was sobbing for nearly two hours trying to do an assignment that I only managed to get a low C on.**

 **I was really down and really upset with myself and my abilities. However I went and read the reviews you guys have posted on my stories for today and on chapters past and I felt so much better about myself. It really means a lot to me to hear how much you like my stuff and I hope you all know that.**

* * *

Chapter 13 - The Subject

"I hear you stood up Stark last night," Erskine said drily. The pair of us were in my car and I was driving us back to Camp Lehigh after the Expo, ready to get back to work.

I winced. "Ah, maybe a little," I admitted sheepishly. "He told you?"

"No, he staggered up to my room about midnight and complained about how you were supposed to keep him from getting too drunk to find his room. He passed out on my couch."

I was torn between the urge to laugh and the urge to wince. "Sorry about that," I said, voice shaking with suppressed laughter. I could just imagine Erskine opening the door and Howard staggering in, complaining loudly before toppling over onto the furniture and passing out.

"He said you ran off with a friend," Erskine continued to press leadingly. "A male friend."

I scowled slightly and glanced at Erskine. "You're being nosy," I accused.

Erskine shrugged apologetically. "I am an old man who spends most of his life shut away in a laboratory with my test tubes. Humor me."

I was skeptical about the old man bit – Erskine couldn't have been past his mid-forties by much – but I didn't see the harm. Better to tell him than to have him mention to Peggy that I was gallivanting across Brooklyn with a random man and have her descend on me for answers.

"You remember Bucky Barnes?" I asked him.

Erskine nodded. "Ah yes, the man who was always walking you around camp."

"I ran into him at the expo. He ships out tomorrow and he wanted to talk. We went to park nearby and chatted for a while, then he walked me back to my room."

I still remembered the trip back, with Bucky holding me tucked against his side to protect me from the chill. He'd insisted on walking me all the way up to my room and he'd lingered there until I was safely inside. Just before I'd gone in, he'd caught me by the hand and pulled me close, planting a kiss on top of my head just like he'd done before he left Camp Lehigh.

I smiled slightly, remembering the surprised look we'd both worn when I rose up on my toes and kissed his stubbled cheek in reply before darting into my room and shutting the door behind me.

"You're blushing, fraulein," Erskine pointed out.

"I am not," I disagreed, but I knew it was a lie. Quickly, I changed the subject. "Did you have any luck at the recruiting office?"

"I did," Erskine said eagerly, reaching down to his briefcase in the floorboard. He tugged it into his lap and pulled out a file. "I believe I have found the one!"

I blinked, looking at Erskine in surprise. I hadn't expected that. Erskine had been very particular about the qualities he wanted in his test subject; a person who was a good man before he was a good soldier. Someone that the military couldn't just point and shoot and whoever they wanted, but who would consider whether or not the gun even needed to be fired.

"What makes him so special?" I asked curiously.

"He's tried five times to enlist, using a different place of birth every time," Erskine said, flipping open the file. "I asked him if he wanted to go overseas and kill Nazis that badly. Do you know what he said?"

I shook my head, not sure what answer to that question could have gotten Erskine so excited. "No idea."

"He said he didn't want to kill anyone. He just didn't like bullies, no matter where they were from."

I smiled at that. Of course, that was a perfect answer. We would be giving a man with strength and speed that no one could hold a candle too – Erskine's fear was essentially that we would be creating a perfect bully, one who could not be challenged, and, worse, one who knew it. Someone who wasn't interested in throwing punches but who was interested in justice? That was exactly who we needed.

"Why did he try five times?" I asked Erskine curiously. "Why didn't he get accepted?"

"Health concerns, a whole slew of them in fact," Erskine said, frowning at the file in his hands.

"Tell me?" I requested, and he started to read.

"Asthma, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, sinusitis, chronic or frequent colds, high blood pressure, palpitation or pounding in heart, easy fatigability, heart trouble, nervous trouble of any sort, has had household contact with tuberculosis, parent/sibling with diabetes, cancer, and heart disease." Erskine closed the file with snap and looked at me. My eyes had gone wider and wider with each new problem.

"Lawsie," I breathed, "no wonder they wouldn't let him in. Can someone like that even make it through basic?"

Erskine looked at the file contemplatively. "If he can't, then he is not the person I think he is."

I looked at Erskine pointedly. "Phillips will fight this, you know he will. Taking an asthmatic in and giving him a shot at your serum? He's been pushy the big, brawny types since the beginning."

"Luckily, he doesn't make the final call. And I expect your help in convincing him," Erskine added.

I chuckled. "What, you want me to pull out my sad eyes and coo about how this guy is perfect. What's his name, anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Maybe not that," Erskine chuckled. "His name is Steven Grant Rogers."

I nearly crashed the car I flinched so hard. Thank god we were travelling the back roads and there was no one around, because it took me a second to get the car straightened out.

"Meine gott!" Erskine cried once I'd straightened us out. He was clutching onto the door with both hands. "What happened?"

"S-Steven Rogers?" I repeated faintly. My ears were ringing.

It hadn't even been a full day since I promised Bucky to look out for Steve, and now he was involved in an experiment that could very well kill him. My heart raced and my head pounded and I had to breathe slowly and carefully to fight down the protective urge to just snarl at Erskine to find someone else.

"You know him," Erskine said softly, realizing why I was panicked. "Gott in himmel, Josie, I'm-"

My grip on the steering wheel tightened and I gritted my teeth. "Not your fault," I bit out. "You didn't know. H-How…" My voice was shaking. I took a beat and swallowed once or twice, trying to moisten my suddenly dry mouth. "How high does the likelihood of survival have to be before we start testing?"

Erskine hesitated. "Josie, don't do this to yourself…"

"I already know the answer," I reminded him sharply. "I just… I need to hear it."

Erskine sighed. "Seventy-five percent. I can probably push for eighty before we begin, but…"

He didn't have to say 'but.' I knew what the problem was. The government was getting antsy. They'd been promised super soldiers and damn it, they wanted their super soldiers. This project had already been in the works for over a year with just a couple of extra-strong lab rats to show for it and a bill that was dripping red. If we took much longer then our funding would be pulled and I knew that as much as he liked me, as much as Erskine wanted to preserve life and as much as he didn't want Steve to die, he would have no choice but to go ahead with human testing or risk the project being dismantled or taken out from under his supervision.

"And where are we now?" I asked quietly.

"…"

"Abraham, please," I begged.

"Sixty-three," he said softly. He reached out, placing a hand on my upper arm. "Josie, it's not a bad chance, all things considered. It's a three in four shot he'll survive, and that's even if I can't get them to accept eighty…"

"That's still a one in four shot he _won't_ survive," I retorted. "And that's… that's not good enough."

I had to consciously keep myself from gripping the steering wheel even tighter. I could already feel the wood starting to creak and snap under my hands. My mind was spinning with ideas. If I could get Erskine and Phillips to push for eighty-five, ninety… no, there were no place for bleeding hearts in this project and that's what they'd be told when they went to Senate with the request. I could ask Howard to keep the fact that he'd solved the energy problem secret – but he'd already reported it.

I could…

I paused. _I_ could. What could I do personally that would raise Steve's chances at survival? The answer presented itself immediately but it made me sick to consider it. It wasn't my secret alone to tell, did I even have the right? But if it would keep Steve alive, then did I have the right _not_ to say anything?

I stopped the car, pulled off the side of the road, and turned the engine off. Erskine looked at me in surprise.

"Josie?"

"There's something you need to know."

* * *

 **Gott in himmel – God in heaven**


	15. The Serum is Finished

Chapter 15: The Serum is Finished

I trailed behind Peggy, a crate of clipboard in my arms. Erskine had all but thrown me out of the lab for a couple of days while he analyzed the samples I'd given him to see if they could be replicated and incorporated into the serum. Until he was sure, I had sort of turned into Peggy's unofficial assistant, fetching her papers and files.

I didn't mind at all though. We'd patched things up after my slip during our spar and now we were friendly again. I think we were both grateful for the female company to be honest. I knew I was starting to get sick of being the only woman I saw for ninety-five percent of my day. Now I spent most of my time with Peggy or Phillips running errands and filing paperwork.

On top of that, Peggy had agreed to run with me in the mornings and we had even sparred again a time or two. I was feeling more active and stronger than I had in a while, last I heard Erskine was making good progress with my samples, and the serum was almost ready for human testing. Things were better than they had been in months.

There were only two glaring problems. One, I hadn't heard from Bucky in almost a month, which was odd because he was nearly religious about his letters to me.

"Are you sure that's not too heavy?" Peggy asked, glancing at me sideways. It wasn't the first time she'd asked.

I laughed. "I'm fine, Peggy," I assured her. "Getting back into the swing of exercise has gotten me used to doing things like this again."

"Alright," Peggy said skeptically as we approached the line of new recruits. I ran my eyes over the line. Broad shoulders, skinny shoulders, broad, broad, skinny, the top of a head.

That was the second problem. Steve. He was Erskine's top pick, and while that wasn't strictly-speaking a guarantee he'd be the one climbing into Howards Vita-Ray chamber, I knew Erskine well enough to know that he would claw and fight to get his pick into the experiment, and I knew better than to bet against him.

He was the tiny figure about three-quarters of the way down the line. His blonde hair was covered by his helmet but I knew Steve when I saw him. He looked tiny standing between two taller men who were chatting amiably. I tried to imagine him as a tall, strapping soldier, a miracle of science that the country could pin their hopes for the war on – it was too odd.

"Attention!" Peggy barked, and like good little soldiers, they all straightened up and faced forwards, conversation dying instantly. She walked down the line of recruits, barely glancing at each of them. I followed behind her, handing out clipboards. "I am Agent Peggy Carter, I supervise all operations for this division."

"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?"

I looked up. Peggy stopped in front of a tall, muscular man was a sneer on his face. I smirked and passed a clipboard to the waiting soldier. These men were about to get a first-hand lesson about just _why_ people who knew her didn't talk to Peggy Carter like that.

"Thought I was signing up for the US Army," the man continued, and I snorted.

"Digging his own grave," I muttered, shaking my head as I handed over another clipboard.

"What's your name, solider?" Peggy asked shortly.

"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty."

"Step forwards, Hodge."

Hodge looked around at his fellow recruits and swaggered up to Peggy shamelessly, looking her up and down.

"Place your right foot forwards."

Hodge did as Peggy asked. "Are we gonna wrestle?" he purred at her. "Because I've got a few moves I know you'll like." And then he had the gall to wink at her.

I burst out laughing as Peggy punched him in the face and sent him sprawling. The recruits seemed torn between looking at Hodge and looking at me as I doubled over at the waist, still giggling.

"And that, gentlemen," I said, straightening up and forcing down chuckles, "is why it's best not to bother Agent Carter."

"Agent Carter!"

Erskine and Phillips rolled up in a transport truck. Peggy turned casually as the two men climbed out of the vehicle. Phillips looked every inch like he belonged on the base in his khaki uniform and leather bomber. Behind him, holding his briefcase, Erskine still looked like he belonged in a college lecture hall.

"I see you're breaking in the new recruits, that's good," Phillips commented as he walked over, perusing the line. His eyes lingered on Hodge, who was still on the ground, clutching his bleeding nose. Phillips shook his head. "Get your ass out of that dirt, get in that line, and stand there until someone comes and tell you what to do."

Hodge scrambled to his feet, brushing as much of the dirt off of his front as he was able to without making more of a scene. "Yes sir," he wheezed, still trying to get his breath back.

"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men," Phillips announced, strolling down the line pointedly. "We are going to win this war because we have the best… men." He faltered slightly when he looked at Steve, and no wonder. Steve was about a foot shorter than the men on either side of him and weighed at least forty pounds less.

"And because they are going to get better," Phillips added. "Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history, but every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell."

I set down my empty crate and moved over to Erskine as Phillips continued to yell and march and generally be a drill sergeant.

"You've emerged," I said softly. "You haven't left the lab for days."

"Your samples…" Erskine shook his head. "I have never seen anything like it. Es ist wunderbar."

"Not really," I disagreed. "From a scientific standpoint, yes. From a personal one… not so much."

Erskine placed a hand on my shoulder supportively, turning me to face him slightly.

"It can work!" he said earnestly. "Josie, it _can!_ You may have just saved that boy's life."

* * *

"What are you doing over here by yourself?"

I looked up from the letter I was scrawling on my lap, the paper balanced on a file. I quickly slid the paper inside the file. I didn't trust Howard not to try to snatch it from me and start with the teasing. I looked up at him.

He was right. I'd gotten to the lab in Brooklyn and I had immediately retreated to an abandoned corner with a folding chair, settling myself in out of the way to wait for Howard to finish what he was doing and get me the report I needed to take back to Erskine.

I blinked. "I don't-"

Howard looked down at me shrewdly. I shifted uncomfortably under his stare but forced myself to meet his stare, waiting for him to say something. The silence dragged on and on for a while. I twitched, resisting the urge to glance to the side.

Howard's face split into a wry smile. He shook his head and dropped into a crouch in front of me. I stared at him, waiting for whatever was about to come out of his mouth. My back was so tense you'd have thought I'd become welded to the back of my chair. Howard could make or break me in this moment, and I could see from the sympathy in his eyes that he knew it.

Howard reached out and took my hands, folding them together inside of his.

"Josie," he said quietly, "we've all got our talents. Me, I can make an engine out of a can of tuna and some paperclips. You?" He chuckled. "Well, that's another story." He leaned closer and looked around secretively. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but I think your talent is way cooler."

I felt like someone had just wrapped me in a warm blanket as I crumpled with relief. Tears pricked my eyes and I hastily scrubbed them away. I wasn't going to break down in tears over this.

Weakly, I managed to work out the words of my greatest fear. "You're… not disgusted? Not... Not afraid?"

Howard scoffed. "No offense Josie, but you're not the most threatening person I've ever met. I _could_ blow up Brooklyn. Doesn't mean I'm _gonna._ "

I closed my eyes and sagged back into my chair. "Howard, you are a blessing," I breathed, a smile starting to twist the corners of my mouth.

Howard winked. "That's what all the ladies say. Now, come on." He placed a quick kiss on the back of both of my hands and tugged me to my feet, giving me a spin. "We've got a super soldier to make!"

* * *

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Worth was frothing at the mouth, and unsurprisingly, it was about something I'd done. "I'm the senior geneticist on this project! I have a right to know!"

Erskine sat behind his desk looking tired. I didn't blame him. He and I had spent the last few days staying up late trying to integrate my samples into the serum itself. And last night we'd finally managed it. The serum was ready for human testing, and the chance of survival? Eighty-eight percent. It wasn't perfect, but it was far better than I'd hoped, and I was confident Steve could make up the last twelve percent on his determination alone.

No one had expected him to do well in basic, and he really hadn't. He was at the bottom of the class in everything. He couldn't run, couldn't carry heavy packs. He was a decent shot but that was about it.

That wasn't the impressive part though. More than once he'd come to the infirmary barely able to breathe, sweating and shaking, his muscles about to give out. But not once had he ever complained, not once had he ever given it less than his best, and even if his best wasn't as good as the other recruits, he was still the most impressive.

Everything had been going perfectly. Until this morning when Erskine had announced that the serum was ready, that it was better than expected, and that it was thanks to my contributions.

Worth had exploded.

"She comes in with some secret compound and we're expected to just accept that?" Worth demanded, swinging an arm out to point at me and nearly hitting me in the face. He'd long ago abandoned his chair in favor of towering over Erskine's desk, but I was still sitting, my hands folded in my lap, resisting the urge to grab his outstretched finger and break it. Didn't his mother ever tell him it was rude to point?

"Yes, you are," Erskine said calmly. "Fraulein Josie has contributed a key part of this project and if she shad other interests to protect, I'm willing to allow it."

"Fine, she can keep her secrets from the meatheads, but the rest of us have a right to know!" Worth continued to rant. "We poured time and energy into this project too! Then she comes along with some secret formula and suddenly the survival rate spikes? What the hell? For the sake of science if nothing else, I demand to know how she did it!"

Erskine sighed wearily and looked at me from under Worth's arm.

"It's not my secret to tell," he said, and nodded to me. "If you want to know, you will have to have Josie tell you."

Worth immediately whirled to me, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared down his nose at me imperiously, strands of ginger hair falling in his face.

"Well?" he thundered. "What did you do? How did you do it? How did someone like _you_ figure out how to do that?"

"I'm _not_ telling you," I said bluntly, which was the same thing I'd told him when he approached me out in the lab. He'd hauled me before Erskine, furious, and demanded answers. "And if," I said, placing my hands on the arms of my chair and rising to my feet, "by someone like _me_ you mean a woman, it's very simple. Despite what you seem to think, you _ignorant misogynist_ ," I growled, "women have brains too."

Worth scowled, his hands fisting at his side. "How dare you? You're just some nobody Erskine hauled in here out of pity; you don't even have a degree. I have a doctorate from genetics from Harvard. It wouldn't surprise me if you weren't really what you said you were, if you were just trying to make a name for yourself off someone else's research." He sniffed. "No way some uneducated hick is-"

"You _will not_ insult where I come from!" I said furiously, feeling the red begin to creep into my vision. I was close to the edge, I could feel it. It was right there these days, so close to the edge. My protective instincts were raised worrying over Steve and with them came everything else I usually tried to suppress.

"Doctor Worth, you need to leave," Erskine said sternly. Worth whirled to look at him, startled.

"I'm not finished, I want an answer, I _deserve_ an answer-"

"You are finished," Erskine disagreed. "The project is over, you are not necessary for the final stage. I have received reports from numerous other scientists here that you have belittled them. But oddly enough, none from Miss Ealum, despite the fact that you seem to hate her in particular. You will receive your final payment in the mail in two weeks time, but for now, I want you _out of my lab._ "

Worth's mouth dropped open, like he couldn't believe what had happened. He looked between me and Erskine, horror, denial, and anger written on his face.

"Y-You can't-" he stammered weakly.

For a moment his face was utterly crushed, and some part of me reveled in seeing the arrogant doctor brought low like that. Then I smacked that part and shoved it into the back of my mind. Worth's expression hardened, his jaw tightening and his eyes turning to steel.

"You'll regret this," he hissed, before turning on his heel and striding from the room. The door slammed shut behind him with enough force to rattle the room.

"You didn't have to do that," I said quietly.

"I saw the look on your face," Erskine replied just as softly. "If you had wanted to, you could have ripped him apart for saying those things, couldn't you?"

I nodded slowly.

"How does it feel?" Erskine asked curiously. "To know that you have that kind of ability?"

I slumped, the anger draining out of me. "Terrifying," I admitted weakly, sitting down in the chair again. "The only thing stopping me is my moral compass, and I know that doesn't exactly always point North."

Erskine nodded thoughtfully. "As it happens, Worth was wrong about one thing."

"Only one?" I replied cattily. Erskine sent me an unimpressed look and I hunched apologetically. He reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. It was thick, heavy parchment, the kind used for official documents. He handed it to me.

I took the paper curiously, looked at it… and burst into tears.

"Josie!" Erskine cried in surprise as he hurried around the desk to place a hand on my shoulder. "Liebling, are you alright? I thought you'd be pleased!"

"I-I am!" I sobbed, looking down at my name, _my name_ written on the certificate. This piece of paper was everything I'd worked for most of my life – with this, no one could question my abilities, no one could say I didn't have the right to do what I was doing.

Finally, _finally,_ I was a scientist.

* * *

 **I know, I know! I'm still being mysterious! Don't hurt me!**

 **Es ist wunderbar –It is wonderful**

 **Leibling - love**


	16. Experiment

Chapter 16 - Experiment

Peggy was more than willing to celebrate with me that night when I returned to the barracks with my degree in my hand and a grin on my face. She took one look at the paper and my face and ran at me, dragging me into a hug. I hugged her back just as tightly and we finished half the bottle of bourbon that had been sitting in my trunk since I got to Camp Lehigh.

Howard was beside himself as well. When I went along with Erskine to deliver the final serum, he scooped me up into a hug and spun me around the room delightedly. He insisted Erskine leave me behind when he went back to Camp Lehigh and had taken me out for dinner, dancing, and a night on the town, celebrating my success.

Only one thing could have made it better.

I stared at the letter in my hands. It was the last one I'd gotten from Bucky. It was worn, the edges foxed from the amount of times I'd pulled it out and read it in the time since I'd heard anything out of him. I must have written a dozen letters to him but I never heard back.

I couldn't blame him for that though. I knew that he was probably moving around, probably didn't have time to write. No matter how many times I repeated those things to myself though, it didn't stop the tiny pinprick of hurt whenever I thought about it. That pinprick became a dull ache whenever I went to the post office with a new letter to send and realized there were no letters waiting for me.

By this point I could nearly recite the letter from memory, but I still looked down at the paper and read it through again.

 _Belle,_

 _I've made it over safely and I've settled in. England is pretty dreary if I'm being honest. I don't think I've ever been to a wetter place. We should be shipping out to Italy soon. Can you believe it? Me, in Italy. Here I was thinking I'd never leave Brooklyn and now I'm running all over Europe. Not exactly the best circumstances for sightseeing, but I'll take what I can get._

 _You mentioned your dad was in Greece. Who knows, maybe I'll end up over there sometimes? Wouldn't that be great, me wandering into the embassy and asking to see a lieutenant colonel just to tell him his daughter loves him? I did promise though. If I came across an Ealum I'd give them your love._

 _I found two, actually. A couple of guys named Peter and Claude. They say they're your cousins. Gave me quite the dressing down, wanted to know how I knew you and if I was being nice. I told them that they were dumb to worry about you, that you could handle yourself. I told them about you decking that guy and they burst out laughing. Didn't seem all that surprised, to be honest, although I think they've sworn vengeance on John if they ever find him._

 _Thanks for sending that picture. A lot of the guys have pictures from their girls back home. At night when they're feeling particularly homesick they like to pull them out and brag about how they've got the prettiest girl back home waiting for them. I never take out your picture though, and I'll tell you why. Not that I'm not proud, but I don't want those other boys feeling bad because I've got the smartest, sweetest, prettiest scientist there ever was writing me. It's just not fair, you know? Don't want to make anyone jealous._

 _See you soon, Belle._

 _Bucky_

Bucky's letters were always only a couple of paragraphs, peppered with jokes and funny stories. In comparison I practically wrote him novels, giving him reports on how Steve was doing, as much as I could say about how the project was going, how I was doing personally. I told him about how I was worried about him and how I was still trying to get him home.

I still didn't hear back, and every week that went by without a letter made me more and more nervous.

* * *

"You're actually shaking," Howard observed. "I can't decide. Have you just gotten that little sleep, had that much coffee, or are that nervous?"

"D, all of the above," I replied, forcing my hands to stop toying with a loose string on my cuff. "I can't believe it, Howard. I mean, we've worked towards this for so long, and it's all about to happen," I said, nodding to the capsule ready and waiting on the raised platform in the middle of the lab. In a little under an hour Steve would be in there, and hopefully, he'd come out as the first successful super solider.

In all my letters to Bucky I'd never mentioned that Steve had been selected for the project. Somehow I just couldn't tell him, couldn't admit that if this went wrong it was practically my fault. I didn't want Bucky worrying about Steve when he was overseas. That could distract him, get him killed.

Then again, he might already be dead for all I knew. It had been too long since I'd heard from him, and something deep and twisting in the pit of my stomach was telling me something was wrong.

I pulled the pencil that was holding up my bun free, letting my hair fall down my back. I held it tightly and began to tap the eraser on the table nervously, eyes darting around the lab. My part in this was done, I was just here to observe from now on, and it was making me twitchy, all the anticipation.

My grip tightened and there was a cracking sound as the pencil snapped. Howard looked at me sideways as I sheepishly tossed the two halves of the pencil into a nearby trashcan and brushed the splinters off my hands.

'Seriously?' his expression read. "Okay kid, you're making _me_ nervous," Howard said pointedly. "Go sit up in the viewing platform if you're this anxious."

I glanced up at the viewing platform. I could see Phillips up there shaking the hand of a man in a suit, but he didn't seem pleased. Not that Phillips ever really seemed pleased. He was surrounded by men in uniforms and thousand dollar suits. I wondered if you could actually smell Washington up there.

"No way," I said, shaking my head. "I go up there, I'll come out double talking and glad handing."

Howard glanced up at the room and winced. "Maybe you're right."

Phillips glanced down from the platform and caught me staring. He rolled his eyes subtly as the man whose hand he had shaken kept talking, oblivious to his less-than-enraptured audience.

"Poor Colonel Phillips," I chuckled.

The door opened and the room fell quiet as Steve stepped inside with Peggy next to him. He looked around the room uncertainly and seemed to realize that all eyes were on him. He shrunk in on himself slightly, unsure, and it made him seem even smaller than usual. I saw him look up at Peggy for a cue as to what to do.

Peggy started down the stairs and Steve trailed after her, still looking around at everything curiously. Most of the scientists turned back to their work, doing last-minute checks on the equipment and readying everything for use. Howard, Erskine, and I converged on Steve as he made his way onto the platform.

"Morning," Erskine greeted calmly, offering Steve his hand. Steve took it and shook, flinching when a flashbulb popped not a foot from his face. Why the photographer was there I couldn't for the life of me understand. Probably for one of the suited men in the viewing room to take back to Washington and hold up in front of some Committee and act like they'd done something for the war effort.

"Please, not now," Erskine requested, sending the photographer scurrying with a pointed look.

"How are you feeling, Steve?" I asked him, smiling encouragingly.

Steve gave me a cautious half-smile. "A little nervous, a little excited."

I nodded. "Sounds about right."

I noticed Steve's eyes lingering on the capsule he'd shortly be shut inside and saw the beginnings of real fear start to slip over his face. I couldn't blame him. It was a nasty-looking piece of equipment, with containers for needles and padded levers to hold him down.

"Ready?" Erskine asked, trying to distract him. Steve nodded, his jaw working like he was trying to decided whether or not he was _really_ okay with this. "Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat."

Steve did so after first shooting red-faced looks at Peggy and myself. The pair of us respectfully averted our eyes as he stripped, laying his clothes down on a nearby table. I nudged a stepstool out from under one of the desks and over to the capsule. Steve stepped up and sat down on the edge, twisting around and tying down on the hard pallet. Erskine and I moved to stand on either side of him.

"Comfortable?" Erskine asked jokingly. I knew what he was doing – he was trying to lighten the mood, trying to help Steve with his nerves. I couldn't help but want to hug Erskine for it. Despite the fact that he was trying to keep a stiff upper lip, I could see the nerves starting to get to Steve.

"It's a little big," Steve said, drawing chuckles from us. "You save me any of that schnapps?"

I looked at Erskine pointedly. "Arzt Erskine," I chided. Erskine shrugged sheepishly and admitted,

"Not as much as I should have. Sorry, next time."

I patted Steve's shoulder and promised, "Once this is all done, I'll get you a bottle of my family's label. We'll celebrate."

Steve gave me a shaky smile. "Sounds good."

"Mister Stark?" Erskine called, stepping away from the capsule. "How are your levels?"

"Levels are good," Howard said, approaching the capsule. His eyes ran over Steve, who shifted uncomfortably. I didn't blame him. I didn't think I'd be okay lying in a capsule topless with everyone staring at me like a lab rat either.

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn," Howard admitted. "But we're ready. As we'll ever be."

Erskine sent Peggy off to the viewing platform. As she hustled off to find a seat, Dr. Erskine moved over to pick up the microphone and Steve gave me one last glance. I gave him my most reassuring smile and he managed a weak one in return before laying back in the capsule. I stepped back and retreated into a corner. I had nothing left to do but stand here with my fingers crossed and pray.

"Ladies and gentlemen?" Dr. Erskine said in to the microphone. The men up in the viewing area turned to face the lab and the doctor with interest. "Today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace."

I saw the large tray wheeled out and the cover lifted, revealing the violently blue serum that was Dr. Erskine's pride and joy.

"We begin with a series of injections into the subject's major muscle groups," Dr. Erskine explained as the lab techs lifted out the syringes carefully and fit them into the apparatus around Steve. "The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-rays."

Dr. Erskine set aside the microphone, putting the grandstanding aside in favor of the actual experiment. He moved to Steve's side and gave the order. "Serum infusion in five… four… three… two…. One!"

"Now, Mr. Stark," I heard Dr. Erskine say. My eyes flicked to Howard as he flipped the lever.

The capsule was lifted up on its stand and began to close over Steve securely, readying him for the Vita-ray treatment. Men in hazmat suits attached hoses to the very top of the capsule as Dr. Erskine tapped on it.

"Steven? Can you hear me?"

"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?"

We all smiled a little at that. Erskine nodded to Howard.

"Ten percent," Howard counted out. "Twenty… Thirty… Forty…"

"Vital signs are normal!"

"Fifty percent! Sixty! Seventy!"

A muffled yell came from the capsule, like Steve was frantically trying to bite back a scream. Light poured from inside the little window as the sound dragged on and on. Everything in me wanted to freeze up, to stop the power right then and pull the plug, but that could be as dangerous as continuing.

"Shut it down!" Peggy screamed, flying from inside the viewing platform.

"Steven!" Dr. Erskine cried, flying to the side of the capsule. "Steven?" He pounded on the capsule, but the only thing that could be heard was that yelling noise. Dr. Erskine whipped around and shouted, "Kill the switch Mr. Stark!"

"No!" Everyone looked in shock at the capsule, Steve's voice making itself heard. "No, I can do this!"

Dr. Erskine, Howard, and I all exchanged looks. It was up to us. It was Dr. Erskine's project, Howard's equipment, my friend. We all had to make the choice. Or at least we would have if Steve hadn't made it for us.

Howard moved from the kill switch back to the dials and gave a valve a twist.

"Eighty! Ninety! That's one hundred percent!" he shouted over the noise from the capsule. Sparks flew from the panel and Howard whipped his hands back. All across the labs the equipment began to spit sparks in warning and lab techs abandoned their stations, whipping their hands back.

I abandoned my corner and ran forwards through the dim lights. Even the bright beam from inside the capsule had faded to nothing. There was silence in the lab as we all waited for any sign of movement, or some little thing to let us know Steve was alive.

I slammed my palm down on a red button on a panel to my right and the capsule slid open. A great burst of smoke belched out, and underneath it, panting, sweaty, and much larger than he'd been a moment ago but unequivocally alive, was Steven Rogers.

My eyes widened. I'd seen some well-formed men in my day… But Steve Rogers suddenly put them all to shame.

Dr. Erskine moved forwards, grabbing Steve by the upper arm and guiding the weary-looking man out of the capsule. Peggy came clattering down the stairs as I hustled forwards and took his other arm, supporting Steve's left side. Instead of him looking up to me, I now had to crane my head back to look him in the eye.

"We did it!" Howard cried, moving forwards and helping Dr. Erskine and I as we eased Steve free of the capsule.

"Yes, we did," Dr. Erskine agreed giddily.

I smiled as I watched Steve take his first steps. He reminded me of a colt with his wobbly legs and trembling knees. He didn't seem to be able to quite get his legs to move where he wanted them, but that was understandable. There was quite a bit more of him to direct now.

"How do you feel?" I asked Steve. He looked around, blinking, and swayed slightly.

"Taller," he said blearily. A nurse was standing nearby with a shirt, her eyes fixed on Steve's chest like he was the last piece of cake at a party. Peggy quickly snatched the shirt from her hands and sent her packing with a look.

"Yes, well…" I said, shoving the shirt at him. "You do look taller."

Steve fumbled with the shirt slightly as he tried to tug it on. It didn't help that people were jostling everywhere, trying to shake Dr. Erskine and Howard's hands and congratulate them or chatting amongst themselves about what this could mean for the war.

 _Boom!_

* * *

 **Arzt- Doctor**


	17. Explosion

Chapter 17: Explosion

A concussive blast suddenly blew out the glass from the viewing area. I raised my hands to deflect it, but everyone was showered in broken glass. I felt the sting as the shards cut into my upraised palms. They hunched over to protect themselves, except for one person.

"Dr. Erskine!"

"Stop him!" Erskine shouted, pointing at a man who was going for the last vial of serum in the container. The man looked up, a snarl on his face, and his hand down behind his back. He was going for a gun, and I had a pretty good idea of who his target was.

"No!" I shouted, and lunged.

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Three shots rang out and Dr. Erskine jolted twice. The third made contact with my shoulder as I finally – _too late!_ – reached Erskine and knocked him out of the way. Dimly I heard gunshots, but of far more importance was Steve as he loomed over the pair of us, horror written on every line of his face.

"Erskine," I grunted, a hand pressed to my shoulder. I could already feel my skin knitting itself back together, pushing the bullet out. Healing, advanced regeneration, the ability that I had Erskine analyze and isolate, the ability that may have been the reason Steve had survived the procedure.

Erskine was wheezing as Steve turned his eyes to him and I knew that he wasn't going to last long. It felt like someone had just stabbed me in the heart. That poor man who had fought so hard, first to get away from HYDRA, then to take him down. He had done nothing wrong, but here he was bleeding out on the floor of a lab with his last great achievement leaning over him in concern.

Erskine managed to poke Steve weakly in the chest and then his hand dropped, falling to the ground with a _thump_ of finality.

I saw Steve's head raise, saw his face harden with rage, and then he was tearing out of the lab after the shooter, shoving his way through a crowd of politicians and officers in his quest to catch the man who had just _killed_ Erskine…

"Josie? _Josie_ , oh, Jesus Christ-"

And then Howard was there, dragging my torso into his lap and looking down at me, his face pale.

"Josie, just hold still, we're gonna get you help!"

"Get me help?" I chuckled, biting my tongue to fight down the pain as the hot bit of lead was finally forced out of my body and dropped, concealed, into my hand. "Howard, I'm fine," I hissed at him, looking him in the eyes pointedly. "Now get me out of here before everyone realizes just how _fine_ I am!"

Logic finally won over panic and Howard's eyes widened as he remembered what I can do. Instantly he understood the situation. If we waited long enough for the medics to circle then everyone in the room would realize just what I was capable of. Just like that, I would replace Steve as the day's lab rat.

"Make room, make room!" Howard snapped, dragging me to my feet. I made sure to stumble and moan weakly as he hauled me after him towards the exit. Not all of it was pretending – being able to heal didn't mean it didn't hurt to get shot. "I've got to get her to the infirmary!" he called after us as we burst through the door and into the relative safety of the hallway. We turned down a corridor to the infirmary, slamming through the double doors.

Thankfully it was empty, with every available medical professional having been on standby in the lab, waiting to deal with any potential fallout from the experiment.

"Quick, bandage me up so no one can see," I ordered, unbuttoning my shirt. Howard's eyes widened as he watched me sit down on the side of a bed.

"Holy-"

" _Howard!"_ I snapped, a hint of a growl in my voice. He stared at me for a second longer startled, and then flew to a cabinet, yanking out gauze and tape and dragging them over to me. He started to bandage my shoulder, fingers shaking as he realized that there really was no hole, not even a scar showing where the bullet had gone in.

"Amazing," he whispered, and then started to wrap.

"Wait!" I stopped him. Howard froze, bandages dangling from his fingers.

"Josie, we don't have time- _Josie!"_

I seized a scalpel from the nearby table of surgical instruments and jammed it into my shoulder. When I pulled it out, a fresh gush of blood poured free and I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming.

"Now go!" I urged him, hearing the pounding feet start to come down the hallway. Howard did as I requested, his face two shades away from ghostly and his hands shaking.

"What the hell was that?" he hissed.

"They wouldn't buy it if there was no blood on the bandages," I murmured, gritting my teeth and nodding to the patch of red that had soaked through the first few layers of bandages.

"Josie!"

Peggy burst through the infirmary doors, her normally neat appearance ruffled and her expression marred with worry.

"Peggy!" I cried as she hurried to my side. It was a relief to have him there. I wasn't hurt, but _Erskine_ …

I swallowed and forced myself not to think about it.

"Are you okay?" she asked urgently, squeezing my hand tightly. I nodded at her and gave a weak smile, trying to play up the blood loss.

"It just grazed my shoulder," I assured her.

"Didn't even need stitches," Howard said. His shakiness wasn't faked. He was an engineer, not a doctor or a soldier. He'd just watched a coworker get killed and seen a friend get shot, then stab herself. I couldn't blame him for being alarmed, and I felt guilty for dragging him into the mess that was my life.

"Are you sure?" Peggy asked Howard sternly. "You're not a doctor, Stark."

"Really, Peggy," I assured her, pulling my hand out of hers and placing it on her shoulder, directing her attention back to me before Howard could crack under the pressure. "It doesn't even hurt that much," I insisted, and plastered on a brave smile.

Peggy smiled faintly. "You're a very strong woman, Josie."

Colonel Phillips made his appearance then. He looked at Howard, looked at Peggy, and then looked at me, with the blood-stained bandage on my shoulder. He sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead. "Your father's going to have my guts for garters. And dear god, _Nevade…_ " He shuddered.

"They won't blame you," I assured him. "They know working for the Army is dangerous even if you're not on the front lines. How's Steve?" I asked, hurrying to switch the conversation as Howard tied off the bandage around my shoulder. I shrugged my shirt back on, buttoning it up. Howard was my medic and Peggy was a woman, so I wasn't too concerned, but I didn't want anyone else bursting into the infirmary on me.

Phillips' face hardened. "Rogers isn't back yet." He glared at an eye chart on the wall. "The only super soldier we got out of this damned project and he runs off the moment he pops out of Stark's glorified refrigerator and rushes after an armed HYDRA agent."

"Hey!" Howard exclaimed, offended. I didn't blame him.

"He's just doing what he was made for," I reminded Phillips. "Protecting people."

* * *

Howard, bless him, helped me hold my cover as an injured girl down by getting me a room in the Plaza, making a big, blustery deal about it and saying that I was to be waited on hand and foot by the staff while I recovered. While it was tempting to lie around on the feather mattress and wile away my week of 'convalescence' eating the amazing dessert room service offered, I forced myself to work, putting the spinning results of my brain down on paper and tweaking a few papers I had been working on before I got involved with Operation: Rebirth. My personal research had fallen by the wayside while I helped with the serum.

Throughout my time I had a steady stream of visitors. Howard popped by for lunch daily, keeping up the charade by loudly asking how I was feeling in the restaurant downstairs. Peggy dropped by once to check up on me, but she was buried in paperwork and meetings after the debacle in the lab. Steve showed up once, sheepishly holding a bouquet of daisies and wishing me well while I struggled to adapt to the fact that he was now taller than me.

My week of rest was nearly over when Howard showed up in a tizzy, grumbling under his breath about idiots who couldn't see past the end of their nose. I ordered tea and we sat in the small living room of my suite while I waited for him to finally make sense.

"Idiots have no idea… Genius… Can't believe the bastards…"

I sighed and raised my cup to my lips. "Howard, any time you want to make sense, let me know."

"The SSR is letting you go."

I spluttered into my tea cup. That wasn't what I'd expected.

"What?" I demanded. "Why?"

Howard shook his head and glared at his tea. "Operation: Rebirth has been handed over to another team to try and reproduce the serum from Steve's blood. The new team refused to take you. Three guesses why."

I shook my head in disgust. Even though I could put a title before my name now, I still didn't get the respect I deserved because I had a pair of breasts. Where was the justice in that? I knew Howard agreed with me. He was a scientist to the bone – so long as the idea was solid, he didn't care where it came from. A parrot could have handed him the secret to time travel and so long as the math worked out he wouldn't have judged.

"Guess it's time to start searching for lab positions," I grumbled, already dreading the prospect. It would take ages to find a lab willing to take me, and I didn't revel in the idea of my stepmother hounding me to just find a husband and settle down in the interim.

Howard looked like I'd just insulted one of his inventions. _"Excuse me?"_ he demanded. "No way am I letting some other company get their hands on you, you're coming to work for me!"

I stared. "Howard," I began uncertainly. "That's very sweet of you, but you've already done so much for me – getting me this place, keeping my secret." I gestured to the room at large. "I don't want to inconvenience you any more than I already have."

Howard rolled his eyes. "Josie, I wipe my nose with hundreds. Besides, I know that even though you could afford it you'd likely have holed up in some cheap motel to save money for God knows why. And as for being an inconvenience… yeah, it'll be just _awful_ having a geneticist and chemist around who knows what she's talking about and is pretty to look at to boot."

I gaped at Howard, a flush covering my cheeks. "Why are you so nice to me?" I huffed, leaning back in my chair. Howard grinned, knowing by my disgruntled expression that he'd won.

"I always wanted a baby sister to coddle and spoil," Howard said smugly. "Congratulations, you won the role."

* * *

 **So now you know some of Josie's secret! She's a mutant!**


	18. Italy

Chapter 18: Italy

 _Bucky,_

 _It's been nearly a year since I heard from you. Don't worry, I'm not angry with you, just an observation. I know you're probably busy winning the war. I thought that was supposed to be my job, but I don't suppose I'll be too angry if you manage it instead._

 _Last I heard from you, you said you were in Italy. Azzano, right? Funny story – now that my project is done (no I can't tell you how it went, you know I signed a confidentiality agreement) the SSR wants nothing more to do with me. Out of the kindness of his heart, or so_ he _says, Howard Stark has offered me a job. He's heading to the European Theater, and he's bringing me with him. Guess where we're going?_

 _I don't know if this letter will get to Italy before I do. If it does, look out for me, will you? I want to see you again, it's been so long since we spoke face-to-face. If I get there first… well, it'll be a nice surprise, I hope._

 _See you soon,_

 _Belle_

* * *

The camp was about as horrible as I had expected, dreary and muddy. Everything seemed to have adopted a uniform mud color scheme. Anything that wasn't covered in actual mud had been painted that color to just get it over with. Everything was that boring khaki color the military seemed to love so much.

I thought back to the green rolling hills of Kentucky, the wide fields, the swaying white blossoms of the locust trees and the smell of the barn in fall. I missed it all more than I'd ever expected I would and being in such a depressing, colorless place made it all the worse.

"Where are the rest of the troops?" I asked, looking around curiously. The camp seemed smaller than it should. The larger tents housing ammo, weapons, and equipment were few and far between and there were large spaces between the smaller soldier's tents. All told, it looked like there were barely fifty men.

Peggy paused beside me. She was supposed to be giving me the 'grand tour' of the camp while Howard settled in to his 'lab.' I'd seen the place – it looked like a glorified shed, made of panels that could be easily disassembled and moved around. I could only imagine that he was pitching a fit about the accommodations.

"Didn't you hear?" she asked uncertainly.

I shook my head, rising up on my toes to try and see around a large tent. "Hear what? Did some of them leave?" I frowned. "That would be horrible timing. This is the 107th Infantry, right? Bucky should be here."

Dimly I heard Peggy mumble "Oh, God." The way she said it, the absolute pity and worry, made me abandon my search and turn to her with wide eyes. Her expression was etched with sympathy.

"Josie," she said weakly. "These troops…" She didn't want to tell me, whatever it was. It was that bad.

"What happened?" I asked grimly. My heart was pounding and there was a horrible swooping sensation in my stomach. I knew it was possible, I knew there was a chance that Bucky was… but now, I couldn't even make myself think it, because making myself think it made it possible."Peggy, _what happened?!_ " My voice was nearly hysterical.

Peggy sighed. "Schmidt sent a force out to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him." Peggy hesitated again. "Less than… Less than fifty came back."

My head was spinning. I may not have heard from in a while, but that didn't mean anything to me. It had been a privilege for me, to have a friend outside of my family, to just know Bucky. The idea that he might no longer be in the world… it made my heart hurt more than it ever had before.

"I don't know if he is one of the ones that's missing," Peggy said uncertainly. Bless her, she was trying to make me feel better.

"I need… I need to see Phillips," I murmured. He would know who was MIA, he would be able to tell me if Bucky was here or if he was…

Without caring about the mud splattering up my legs, I sprinted towards the command tent.

* * *

Ten minutes later I staggered out, feeling like I'd just been smashed over the head with a hammer. The world around me was even duller than before. The mud had dried on my stockings and was itchy and flaky, but I didn't care. The rain trickled down from above, smearing my makeup and flattening my hair, but I didn't care.

 _Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes._

 _MIA._

" _I'm sorry, Josie."_

He'd wanted me to watch out for Steve while he was gone. I'd done that, I'd done it as well as I could, but it was Bucky who need watching out for. Maybe if I was here, maybe I could have done something, I could have kept him out of danger.

I mentally smacked myself. Right, because they would have let me come over here and join the front lines. There was nothing I could have done, and that was probably the worst part. I was used to being capable, of being in control of situations. But suddenly I was helpless, and I didn't know how to handle it.

I smacked into something solid and unyielding. The smell of paper and chemicals washed over me. I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a large white star stitched across a wide chest.

"Hello Steve," I said softly, stepping back and looking up so that I could see his face. He looked just like he had when he came out of the capsule – the serum hadn't lost any of its potency. His outfit was ridiculous though. I'd seen the posters, seen the pictures of him in the star-spangled uniform. I knew he was taking his show on the road to Europe to see the troops, I just hadn't paid much attention to the specific stops.

"Josie," he greeted, smiling down at me. That was when I realized he didn't know about Bucky. He couldn't have, if he was still smiling like that. It hit me like a punch in the gut and I lost my air. "I just saw Howard, he said you were here. How are you? It's been a while."

I opened my mouth to reply; with what I wasn't sure. Cheerfully chirp I was okay and it was nice to see him before rushing off to cry in my tent? To blurt out the horrible truth and watch his face fall into one of grief?

I couldn't even managed to choke out a 'nice' before the tears prickled my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Steve," I gasped, and turned, rushing away. I dodged and weaved around soldiers and tents, ignoring the people calling out after me in surprise. I was glad Peggy had showed me the tent we'd be sharing before I abandoned her. I flew through the flaps and sat myself down on the edge of the bed.

 _Don't cry, don't cry, don't be weak, you're not weak…_

For once the voice snarling at me from the back of my head wasn't strong enough. I felt the tears burn as they trickled down my chilled cheeks. A sob rose from within my chest. I clenched my jaw, tried to fight it down, but it came anyway, through trembling lips. Like it had opened a floodgate the tears fell faster and the sobs came stronger.

I seized my pillow and clutched it to my face in a desperate attempt to quiet the noises I was making. I fell sideways on the bed, curling my legs up tightly and clutching the pillow to my chest, burying my face in it. I laid there and shuddered as I tried to get control, but my mind kept spinning off in traitorous directions when I tried to comfort myself.

 _He might not be dead,_ I told myself. _He's listed as MIA, he might only be captured, not killed. But captured by HYDRA, dear god, what must he have been through? What might they have done to him?_

A fresh wave of sadness washed over me and this time I didn't even try to stop it, I just let the tears fall.

* * *

I must have cried myself to sleep, because the next thing I knew Peggy was standing over me and shaking me. She was clad in a jumpsuit and tossed a second one at me.

"Clean yourself up and get dressed," she barked, gesturing to my face. Befuddled, I glanced at the mirror hanging on one support post of our tent and winced. My bun was a wreck, tilted to one side from lying down. My makeup was smeared and dark lines trailed down my cheeks form crying. I glanced down at my pillow and saw smears of makeup.

"What's going on?" I said, setting the pillow aside and reaching for the jumpsuit.

"Steve found out about your sergeant," Peggy explained, turning around to give me some semblance of privacy as I stripped and began to climb into the jumpsuit.

I winced. "Oh god, is he okay?" I knew it was a stupid question the moment I asked it, and going by the dark look Peggy shot me over her shoulder, she agreed. Her back was stiffer than usual and I could practically smell the stress rolling off of her. Something was going on, something she wasn't happy about.

"He's planning a rescue mission," Peggy said bluntly. I straightened up, both legs and one arm in the jumpsuit.

"What?" I demanded incredulously.

"That was my reaction, but then he-" Peggy paused, not seeming to know how to explain it. She didn't need to.

"He was Steve," I said quietly, heart swelling. Erskine would have been so proud of Steve if he was still around.

I could imagine it, Steve insisting he _needed_ to do this was such conviction. It was much how I felt at the idea. I needed to go along, and I was glad Peggy had come to fetch me.

Peggy cleared her throat. "Howard has agreed to fly us all past enemy lines."

"Us?" I questioned. I understood Howard flying – he was the best civilian pilot we had access to. But Peggy and I?

"I have access to maps of the front," Peggy explained. "And you…" She shook her head. "To be honest, I didn't want you to come, but Howard insisted he need you and, to my surprise, Steve agreed that you probably needed to do this too."

I could have kissed the both of them, really I could.

I wiped the remains of my makeup off and began yanking pins out of my hair. With deft motions I reworked it into a long braid down my back and tied it off. I felt freer than I had in days, and more determined.

"Let's go."

* * *

Peggy and I had to sneak behind tents to get to the airfield. We would have drawn attention, the both of us in our jumpsuits, Peggy with a pair of maps rolled up in her hands. When we arrived, Howard was examining the underside of a wing on the small plane we'd flown in on and Steve stood nearby, fastening on a helmet with the letter A on the front under his chin. A pair of goggles rested on the brim.

"We ready?" Howard asked as he saw us approaching. I nodded firmly and Howard grinned in reply. He looked excited, like he was ready to get in on the action. "Then all aboard!"

He climbed into the plane, making his way to the cockpit. Steve, Peggy and I followed him aboard. With a wrench, Steve shut the door behind us and bolted it, settling into one of the seats. Peggy and I sat across from him. This place was nicer than most, with leg room and leather seats, but I couldn't have cared less right now as Howard started the engine. We taxied down the runway, and in under a minute, we were in the air.

"Thank you for doing this Howard," I called over the roar of the engines. Howard held up a hand and waved, watching the sky in front of us as we climbed higher, headed for Austria.

"Not a problem, Josie!"

"And thank you for letting me come," I added to Steve. He flushed slightly, which was much almost _more_ adorable now that he was so much bigger.

"Well, once I heard, I realized why you were so upset when I ran into you. I thought… I thought it might help if you were doing something," Steve admitted with a shrug.

"It does, thank you."

My eyes slid from him to the four parachutes and goggles not far away, one set for each of us should everything go pear-shaped. I knew Steve would be taking one, and I was closer than Peggy, to the chutes and to the door. I didn't know much about parachutes beside pulling the chord and hoping for the best, but even if I landed hard, that shouldn't be a problem…

Bucky had asked me to try and keep Steve out of trouble if I could. I couldn't take care of him if I wasn't with him, right? And there was no way I'd be able to stop him from going after Bucky. I didn't want to. So really, the only option I had was to go with him.

The idea made a twinge of fear coil up in my gut, but it also made my instincts hum at the prospect of a fight. I closed my eyes, forcing them down but letting them simmer under the surface. I'd need them to come through this.

I knew the theory of fighting, I knew how to throw punches and kicks and I had the strength to do it. But a real fight, with my life on the line? That was new to me, and a misstep could endanger Steve or anyone we managed to save. I couldn't afford to be a scared little girl. I needed to be the Tigress I was nicknamed as a kid.

Peggy bent over the map that was spread across the knees of her jumpsuit and pointed with a pen. She scrawled a little H and gestured to it.

"The HYDRA camp is in Krausberg, between these two mountain ranges," she explained. "It's some kind of factory, but we don't know what they're making."

"We should be able to drop you on the doorstep!" Howard called back to us.

"Just get me as close as you can," Steve requested, grabbing one of the parachutes and fumbling with one of the latches as he strapped himself in. "You know you three are going to be in a lot of trouble when you land," he pointed out.

"You won't?" Peggy countered.

"Well, where I'm going if someone yells at me then I can just shoot them."

"They will undoubtedly shoot back," Peggy said.

Something about the way she looked at Steve when she said it, the calm but cautionary way she said it, and the way Steve looked back at her, made me realize that there was perhaps more going on there than I'd realized. I watched Steve's cheeks go pink and couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Then let's hope this is good for something," Steve said, reaching over and tapping on the shield that was sitting in the seat next to him.

"Hey ladies," Howard called back. "Agent Carter, if we're not in too much of a hurry I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late-night fondue?"

"Howard," I said warningly as Peggy's eyes flicked to Steve then down to her lap. Steve glanced at Peggy, looking slightly downhearted.

Peggy quickly changed the subject. "Stark is the best civilian pilot I've ever seen," she said. "He's mad enough to brave this airspace. We're lucky to have him."

Steve nodded. "So are you two… do you…" Fumbling over his words, he gestured between Howard and Peggy. "Fondue?" he asked weakly. I resisted the urge to cover my mouth with a hand and laugh. I got the feeling Steve didn't know what fondue was. He thought it was a euphemism for something.

Shaking her head in confusion, Peggy reached into one of the many pockets on her jumpsuit and pulled out a little silver box, passing it over to Steve. "This is your transponder. Activate it when you're ready and the signal will lead us straight to you."

Steve looked at the little box, taking in the Stark logo on the bottom. Leaning towards the cockpit, he called, "Are you sure this thing works?"

Howard scoffed. "It's been tested more than you have pal."

The plane rocked suddenly, a shell bursting not far from our wing. The air was suddenly riddled with streaks of light and explosions as shells were fired. We'd been sighted apparently, and as far as the forces on the ground were concerned, we needed to come down _now._

Steve lunged out of his seat and yanked open the door, sitting on the edge of the opening and readying himself for the jump. Peggy's eyes widened and she shot out of her seat, rushing to his side.

This was my opportunity. I slipped out of my seat and grabbed a parachute, trying to be as quiet and as subtle as I possibly could as I buckled myself in. I kept an eye on Peggy, watching as she continued to fight with him.

"Get back here, we're taking you all the way in!" she ordered furiously.

"As soon as I'm clear you turn this plane around and get the hell out of here!" Steve countered, shouting over the roar of the wind. I snapped a buckle into place, but thankfully the engines, the bombs, and the rushing air all covered the sound.

"You can't give me orders!" Peggy countered.

"The hell I can't! I'm a captain!"

And with that, Steve pulled his goggles down over his eyes and leaped out of the plane. I grabbed one of the sets of goggles and tugged them down over my eyes. Peggy turned away from the door, resigned. Her eyes widened when she saw me, suited up and ready to jump. Horror crossed her expression as she realized that I fully intended to follow Steve.

"Josie, _no!"_

In two steps I had crossed the cockpit and leaped out of the plane. Peggy's terrified scream rang in my ears for a moment before the rushing of the wind snatched it away. I spread my legs and arms, and I was falling.


	19. Finding Bucky

Chapter 19: Finding Bucky

I saw Steve's parachute bloom and when I reached the same height as him I yanked my own cord. The parachute opened with a woosh, slowing me down with a yank that nearly ripped my shoulders out of their sockets. I managed to figure out how to direct myself and I stayed close on Steve's tail as he descended.

He hit the ground with a thump and stripped off his parachute. He was poised like he was ready to streak off in the direction of the factory when I landed behind him with a thump and the sound of rippling fabric. Steve turned around to look at me and his eyes widened.

"Josie! Oh my _god,_ what were you thinking?" he asked worriedly, rushing to my side. "Are you hurt? Did you land okay? What were you _thinking?_ You're crazy!"

"I'm fine, Steve," I assured him, reaching up and placing a hand on his shoulder. "And I know what I'm doing more than you might think."

Steve shook his head. "Josie I know you can throw a punch, but this is different, this is _war-_ "

"But I'm here now," I said pointedly. "What are you going to do? Abandon me in enemy territory? I'm pretty sure the safest place for me to be is next to Captain America at this point."

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but I knew I'd won from the wheels turning behind his eyes. He knew he couldn't just abandon me here and run off, and if we waited here for Peggy and Howard to come back and get me, then he lost his chance to save Bucky and everything we all risked tonight was for nothing. If he let me come with him, then he could protect me and he still had a chance at saving Bucky.

It was the best solution.

"So many people are going to have my head for this," he mumbled, before flicking his head in the direction of the factory. "You stay _right next to me_ , you understand?" he said seriously. I nodded. Unable to resist, I smiled and saluted.

"Aye aye, captain."

* * *

It was surprisingly easy to get close to the factory. There were no guards outside the perimeter of the gates and the floodlights didn't reach far into the trees. Even if they had, the mist covering the ground provided us with cover on our approach.

We crouched by the road leading in to the factory, watching as headlights came closer. A pair of motorcycles, the escort, whizzed past. Trucks rumbled along behind them.

"That's our way in," I breathed, and Steve nodded. We waited until the last truck was almost gone and then darted out into the road, lunging up over the back of the truck and disappearing inside. The pair of us landed in a tangled heap. I groaned as a heavy, serum-enhanced leg landed across my own.

"… die Hölle?"

Two HYDRA soldiers were sitting casually in the back of the truck on crates. They wore masks that covered their entire heads, but I had the feeling that behind the dark goggles their expressions were complete incredulity.

Steve nodded to them. "Fellas."

They lunged for us. One of them came at me. I twisted and raised my arms, leaning to avoid his outstretched hands. My palms hit his chest and I managed to redirect his momentum, sending him flying over the back of the truck to face-plant in the road. Steve punched his assailant three times and then tossed him out too.

We exchanged glances.

"Well, that went surprising well," Steve observed.

We rolled undetected through the gates and into the factory. I tried to listen, catching snippets of conversation as we passed, but the engine was too loud to get more than a few scattered words.

"Get behind me," Steve said as the truck began to reverse, probably pulling into a loading dock. I did as he requested, crouching behind him as he hid behind his shield. The truck stopped and there was a flapping sound as the fabric covering the back of the truck was pulled back.

"Eh?"

Steve's shield snapped out, catching the HYDRA soldier in the chest and sending him flying back several feet into the loading dock. Steve lunged out of the bed of the truck and I followed him out. We crept around the side of the loading bay towards an open field lined with tanks. Steve held out an arm, keeping me behind him protectively as he began to creep through the lines.

"Get ready to run," Steve said, and broke into a sprint across some open area towards another tank parked next to a low building.

"How many tanks to they need?" I muttered irritably as Steve hopped onto the tank. He turned around to give me a hand up, but I leaped up on my own. I caught a glimpse of the surprise on Steve's face before I jumped over onto the roof, turning back to face him.

"You coming?" I asked.

The teasing wasn't quite what I expected, but it was hard to avoid when I had so much adrenaline running through my system, making my head spin dizzily with confidence. My instincts were still there, bubbling under the surface and waiting to be turned lose the moment the first punch was thrown. Yori and my dad were the ones who had taught me how to fight, and I looked forward to making them proud today.

Steve and I kept low as we ran across the top of the building towards a row of window. I crouched down and leaned, checking to make sure no one was coming. Steve slid the edge of his shield between the window and the lintel and gave it a tap, yanking it free with a wooden creak. We slid inside the building and shut the window behind us so as not to raise suspicion.

"Well, we broke into the HYDRA factory," I murmured. We could either go left or right. "So… now which way?"

"This way should take us deeper in," Steve said, gesturing to the right. He headed that way and I followed, keeping close just like he'd asked.

We reached a metal door, one that wouldn't have looked out of place on a submarine except for the pane of glass bolted into the middle at head height. Through it I could see a large factory floor, but not much else. A HYDRA guard lingered nearby.

Steve tapped on the door with his shield. The HYDRA soldier heard and came over, opening the door and poking his head out.

"Was-"

Steve slammed the door on his head and I punched him in the face for good measure. The German crumpled. I grabbed him by the back of his armored vest and heaved him through the door with a grunt. Steve and I slipped through, onto the factory floor.

The nearest guard had his back to us, so we were able to dart out of our little corner and into a couple of rows of whatever-they-weres. I suspected they were rockets of some kind, although they didn't look like any rockets I'd ever seen.

Past the rockets were lines of huge bombs. I shuddered at the thought of any of them ever leaving this factory, but I knew that if we sat here and tried to destroy all of them we'd end up getting caught and we'd never get out of here, much less get any of the 107th out.

"What on earth…"

Resting on a table at the end of the rows of bombs was a wheel of some sort fitted with glowing blue cartridges around the edges. Smaller versions of the cartridges were lined up nearby, looking like they were waiting to be fitted onto wheels of their own. I couldn't for the life of my figure out what was making the pieces glow blue.

Steve picked up one of the cartridges and examined it, turning it over in his hand. Whatever it was it seemed stable – the glow didn't even flicker as Steve jammed it into his pocket.

"Maybe Howard can tell us what these are," he whispered, and I nodded, grabbing another two and shoving them into a pocket on my jumpsuit near my knee. Howard was prone to blowing things up when he played with them – I suspected he might need more than one.

"The prisoners have to be nearby," I reasoned. "If they're being kept alive," and I had to believe they were or I'd lose it right here in the middle of the HYDRA factory, "then I bet they're being put to work. They won't be far from here. Easier transport, less chance of someone slipping away."

Steve nodded to a small door nearby. It had a sophisticated-looking lock on it, the kind that you had to type in a key code to get through. It was by far one of the most secure-looking doors scattered around the room.

"That looks like a good place to stick prisoners," Steve said, and I nodded.

We hurried over. There was no way we could guess the key code, and we didn't have time to sit there and try. Steve slammed his shield down on the box where the keypad was. It sparked and there was a faint click as the lock snapped open.

Quietly, Steve opened the door and slid inside. I followed, pulling the door shut behind me.

The room was filled with round cages, about five men in each. Bars were stuck in the ground and attached at the top to a catwalk that covered most of the room. A pair of soldiers patrolled. Most of the men looked exhausted and filthy, and I couldn't blame them. They'd been here for months.

I also noticed that there were far less than reports said had been taken and couldn't help but be worried. What if Bucky was one of the ones who'd already succumbed?

"I'll take that one, you take that one?" Steve suggested, pointing between the two guards on the catwalk. One of them was near the middle of the room and another was on the fringes near a staircase down to the floor.

I nodded and moved. Steve grabbed my arm, looking at me. "You're sure you can handle it?"

If it was anyone else I would have scowled and snapped that I could handle it, but I knew Steve was genuinely worried about me. I smiled back.

"Relax," I said soothingly. "It's just one guy."

I slipped away, staying in the shadows around the edges of the room. I ignored the stairs. I knew my shoes on the grate would give me away no matter how hard I tried to sneak. Instead I took a running leap at one of the walls. I hit it with one foot and bounded up and off of it, leg extended. My foot connected with the beck of the startled HYDRA agent and he went face-first onto the grating. I landed on my knees straddling him and grabbed the back of his mask, slamming his head into the grate for good measure a couple of times until I was sure he was out.

I looked up and saw that Steve had taken out his guard as well. "Keys," he called to me from across the room, holding up a pair he'd filched from the guard's belt. I checked my own guard and pulled an identical pair from his hip.

"Who're you supposed to be?" called one of the men in the cage below Steve.

"Uh… Captain America?" Steve replied uncertainly as he stood up.

A British voice replied, "I beg your pardon?"

Steve and I climbed down from the catwalk and onto the factory floor, keys at the ready. I fitted them into the lock on the nearest cage and opened it up before hurrying on to the next cage.

"Hold on," said one of the men in my second cage, surprised. "You're a girl!"

"Nicely done," I said drily, and opened up the cage. I finished up my side and hurried through the crowd over to Steve, who was on his last cage, the one with his guard sprawled on top of. A man in a bowler hat came out first. His eyes lingered on a nearby Asian man.

"Are we taking everybody?" he said coolly.

The Asian man grabbed his dog tags pointedly. "I'm from Fresno, ace," he snapped.

"Is there anyone else?" Steve asked as we all solidified into a mass and moved towards the door. "I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes."

"There's an isolation ward off the factory but no one's ever come back from it," said the same British voice as before. Now I could see it was a man with a mustache and a red beret. Going by the pin on it, I pegged him as from a Parachute Brigade.

"The tree line is northwest, eighty yards past the gate. Get out fast, and give them hell," Steve said, moving closer to the door. "We'll meet you guys in the clearing with anyone else we find."

"Josie?"

I whipped around at the sound of my name, but it wasn't the person I was hoping. Instead a small, muscular man with thick sideburns and a rugged face muscled his way through the crowd.

My eyes widened. "Jimmy Howlett?" I said incredulously. "How in hell did you get from Vancouver to here of all places?"

"Bad luck and bad timing," Jimmy said, swaggering forward and dragging me into a hug. "C'mere."

"It's good to see you," I said, returning the hug and grinning. I felt Jimmy nod over the top of my head at Steve, who was watching us curiously. "He know what he's doing?" he asked me, and I knew without even looking that he was shooting Steve the stink eye.

"Yeah," Steve replied for me. "I've knocked out Adolph Hitler over two hundred times."

With that he turned and headed for the door. I lingered slightly, pulling myself out of Jimmy's grip and assuring the men, "He's actually highly qualified."

"Josie?"

"Coming!" I hustled after Steve.

We didn't make it far before an alarm bell sounded the escape. I wasn't surprised – I doubted the men were being very subtle after having been caged up for months on end. I couldn't blame them.

The factory floor flooded with HYDRA agents responding to the alarm. The chaos actually worked for us, in a way. Everyone had some station they need to get to that was far more important than us. The only people who tried to stop us were the ones in our direct path.

Steve shoved one HYDRA agent into a wall with his shield while I ripped the mask off a second one and punched him in the face. I shoved him into the wall and growled in his face, "Isolierstation?"

Stunned and with his head pounding, he pointed shakily in the direction of a door painted a peeling green color, up several floors. It did not look at all welcoming, which I assumed was kind of the point. I punched the HYDRA soldier a couple more times to knock him out.

"Steve, this way," I called, and ran for the door, Steve on my heels. We knocked out or tossed aside any agents that came at us, taking to the catwalk and climbing above the confusion. The door didn't have a lock, so we ducked inside and shut it tightly behind us. The noise from the factory dimmed with the door shut and I could finally take the time to actually consider our surroundings.

Not that it made me feel much better. The walls were brick and the floors were slick. The whole place smelled damp and musty and the chill in the air made the hairs on my arms rise up. Small windows let in only a little light that was tinted green and brown from the dirt caking the panes.

"Come on," Steve said, pulling out his gun and holding it ready as we moved along the hallway. It took a sharp left not far down and we turned, ready for anything…

A tiny man ran out of a room to the left of the hallway. He was dressed in a suit and had a hat on his head and a briefcase in his arms. Definitely not a soldier, probably one of their scientists. He took one look at us a fled.

Steve and I ran after him, but he vanished around a corner. We slowed to a stop – one scientist wasn't going to make much of a difference to our escape. Instead, Steve peered into the room he'd just run out of before entering cautiously. I trailed after him, peering around.

This was definitely a lab of some sort. There were clear glass cabinets scattered around with vials and bottles filling them, labeled in German. Some of them were chemicals I recognized, but some I'd never heard of. The light was just as bad in here, but I could see a surgical tray of scalpels, clamps, and syringes waiting beside a sink on one wall and I shivered at the thought of what they might be used for.

"Sergeant James Barnes, 32557038… Sergeant… 325570…"

I gasped. Bucky was strapped to a surgical table near the end of the room, a curtain covering anything beyond him. That didn't matter though, because Bucky was _there_ and he was _alive_ and that was the most important thing.

"Bucky," Steve and I breathed at the same time and rushed to either side of the table. Steve ripped the restraints away and tossed them aside with extreme prejudice. Bucky's blue eyes – I'd forgotten just how gorgeous that color was – were blown wide and unfocused. Slowly, they drifted towards Steve.

"Is… Izzat…?"

"It's me, it's Steve," Steve whispered, hovering over him.

"Steve… Steve…" A sloppy grin covered Bucky's face when he finally managed to focus on Steve's face.

"Come on, come on," Steve urged, dragging Bucky upright. Bucky swayed slightly as Steve dragged one of his arms over his own shoulders, supporting him. Bucky finally seemed to realize someone else was there. He struggled to focus on me.

"Hey… who's… who's…?" His eyes cleared slightly. " _Belle?_ What the… what the hell're… Are you doing here?"

I shrugged and gave him a watery smile. "You asked me to keep an eye on Steve, so I'm keeping an eye on him. Come on, let's get us all out of here," I said, grabbing his other arm and dragging it over my own shoulders. Moving like possibly the weirdest team to ever enter a four-legged race, we staggered towards the door.

" _Sakura, sakura, no yamo mo sato mo mi-watasu karigi. Kasumi ka kumo ka. Asahi ni niou…"_

I froze. It was very faint, but I knew that song, and far, far worse, I knew that _voice._

"Hold on," I said shakily, ducking out from under Bucky's arm.

"Josie, we've got to go!" Steve urged.

"Shh," I insisted. "Listen!"

 _"Sakura sakura hana zakari."_

Finding the source of the noise, I moved towards the curtain covering the back of the room, almost afraid of what I'd find behind it. Reaching out carefully, I parted two panels of fabric and stepped behind them.

Lying there on a scarred steel table, half-illuminated by the light coming through a grungy window, lay my old friend, Yori Tsukuda.

"Yori!" I gasped, and flew to her side. Her eyes were just as unfocused as Bucky's, but she seemed to be coming out of whatever fugue the drug put her into much faster. Her eyes brightened and focused.

"Well well," she said weakly. "It took you long enough, Tora."

Shaking my head, I reached down, forcing a blade into my palm, and slit the straps holding her in place. Yori sat up weakly, her black, leathery, bat-like wings hanging limply on the table behind her. Like me, she was a mutant. Unlike me, she did not even remotely look human. That was why she usually wore a long coat and a mask.

I glanced around, hoping against hope that whenever she'd been captured HYDRA had taken those things and kept them close, otherwise I'd have a lot to explain when I stepped out from behind the curtain with her.

God was looking out for me, because I saw her ratty trench coat tossed casually over a desk with the oni mask leaning beside it. There was even a hat resting next to it, which was convenient.

"Josie, what's going on?" Steve called form behind the curtain.

Yori's head twitched in that direction, eyes glinting. "You brought company." I nodded. "Like us?"

"Uh…" I hesitated. "Sort of?"

Yori raised an eyebrow. "You'll explain that later," she informed me. I smiled slightly. Despite having just been rescued from an evil scientist, Yori was as blunt and commanding as ever.

"My sword?" she asked, squinting around. I looked around as well, but I couldn't see a single sign of Yori's beloved sword. I winced. She would not be pleased about that.

"I don't think it's here," I said quietly. Yori's lips tightened.

"Bastards."

"Josie?"

"Give me a second!" I called. I passed Yori the clothes from the desk. She gratefully pulled the coat on, covering her wings and her prehensile tail with the spade-like tip. She shoved her hair up under the hat and tied on the mask. Finally, she unfolded the cuffs so that the sleeves of her coat covered her naturally-blackened, pointed nails.

Once she was sufficiently covered, I shoved the curtain back. Yori staggered slightly as she took her first couple of steps. I quickly moved to her side and grabbed her, dragging her arm over my shoulder.

Steve's eyes widened when he saw the entirely-covered figure leaning on me, face hidden by the snarl of the demon on her mask. "What the-?"

"I'll explain later," I said, dragging Yori over to him and Bucky. Bucky seemed to have come back to himself a little bit, because his eyes widened when he saw me.

"… Are you a… hallucination, Belle?" he asked uncertainly. "Because I've been having those…"

"No, I'm as real as Steve is." I reached out and cupped his cheek so that he could feel me really, solidly there. He reached up and held my hand in place. Bucky didn't seem to know what to say to that. Instead he glanced at Steve. "Did you drag my Belle into an active war zone?" he demanded, looking highly annoyed. His grip on my hand tightened.

Steve winced. "She came on her own."

Meanwhile, I was just trying not to blush about the 'my Belle' comment. I felt Yori squeeze onto my wrist pointedly. I knew we'd be talking about that later as well.

There was an explosion from deeper within the factory. It rocked the ground under our feet.

"We need to go," Steve and I chorused.

* * *

 **… die Hölle? - … the hell?**

 **Was- - What-**

 **Isolierstation? – Isolation bay?**


	20. Escape

Chapter 20: Escape

"What happened to you?" Bucky asked Steve as the lot of us staggered down the hallway. He pushed away from Steve to try and walk on his own. He was clumsy but he managed it. Like she didn't want to be outdone, Yori pushed free of me and began walking as well, making special effort to keep upright and stable.

"I joined the Army," Steve replied, looking left and right for any sign of someone.

"Did it hurt?"

"A little."

"Is it permanent?"

"So far."

The men had thankfully moved the fight outside, so the factory floor was clear as we emerged from the isolation ward. We hit the catwalk that ran over top of the factory floor just in time for the workspace below us to be blown sky high.

"This place has a self-destruct," Yori shouted over the noise of the explosions. "I suspect Schmidt has set it off!"

"If we can't go down, we go up," Steve said, and started up the stairs. We all clattered after him, going up another level, and then another.

"There!" I said, spotting an access hatch on the opposite wall. There was a thin bridge crossing the entire width of the factory that we could use to get across. We all headed for it, eager to get out before another round of explosions brought the whole factory down on our heads.

"Captain America!"

We paused at the end of the catwalk across. On the other side of the building, next to an elevator of some sort, stood the tiny scientist we'd seen earlier. Next to him was a tall man in a long leather coat. He passed a container over to the scientist and turned so that we could see the large red HYDRA crest embroidered on his right shoulder.

"How exciting, I am a great fan of your films!" he said mockingly, moving to stand at the other side of the bridge.

"Schmidt," Yori growled, and moved to follow Steve as he stepped out onto the catwalk, Schmidt doing the same.

"Don't," I hissed, grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her back. Bucky was leaning heavily on the railing next to me. I reached out a placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing supportively. He was doing well keeping up with us but I could see the exhaustion written on his face, and his gaze was still a little fuzzy.

"So, Doctor Erskine managed it after all," Schmidt drawled, stopping barely three feet from Steve. "Not exactly an improvement, but still impressive."

Steve swung his fist forwards and cracked it across Schmidt's cheekbone. The man staggered against the rail, clutching the side of his face. He looked up at Steve, glaring as he straightened up.

"You've got no idea," Steve said coolly.

Something was wrong with Schmidt's face. His skin seemed to be sagging around his right eye, like his cheek had slipped farther down than it should have been. Something red and slimy-looking peeped out from around his eye, almost like an exposed muscle.

"Haven't I?" Schmidt grunted, and pulled his own fist back. Steve raised his shield. The fist connected with the metal and let out a sound like a gunshot. I inhaled slightly when I saw the outline of knuckles pressed into the thick metal. It had stood up to rifle butts and bullets, but Schmidt managed to bend it completely out of shape with his fist.

Steve's hand dove for the gun at his hip. A fist swung up under his shield and nailed him in the stomach. Steve staggered and toppled, breath blasted out of him as he crashed back against the metal grating of the catwalk. His gun skittered from his hand, teetered on the edge for a moment, and then dropped into the burning factory below.

Schmidt took a step forwards and Steve moved, drawing his feet up to his stomach and kicking out. Schmidt sailed back with an _oof_ and smacked into the grating as Steve hauled himself upright. The tiny scientist flung himself at a lever and yanked it a little desperately. The two halves of the catwalk began to slide apart, receding back to their own sides.

Schmidt pulled himself to his feet, staring at Steve from across the increasing gap. "No matter what lies Erskine told you, I was his greatest success!" he cried, and reached up. For a moment I thought he was trying to pull something from the high collar of his coat. But then Schmidt's fingers seemed to wrap around his own flesh, tugging it up oddly. The skin flipped over on itself and was tugged up, revealing more of that reddish membrane underneath. With a final tug, Schmidt _ripped his face away_ , revealing the Red Skull beneath.

"Please tell me you don't have one of those," Bucky panted.

"He doesn't but I do," Yori snarled, raising her hand. A whip of greenish light unfurled from the ends of her pointed finger as she drew it backwards and then flung it forwards. The whip of light snapped inches from Schmidt's face.

Schmidt laughed at the startled looks on Steve and Bucky's face.

"You didn't know what kind of monster you saved, did you?" He was genuinely amused by all of this. Then his eyes fixed on me. "What about you, girl? Did you know you were holding on to a monster?"

I narrowed my eyes. I felt Yori seething next to me, rage rolling off of her in waves. It poured through my veins too, and the red washed over my vision. I roared, _really_ roared, the sound echoing over the explosions.

"Yes I did," I snarled at Schmidt's somewhat startled face. _"Because I'm a monster too!"_

There was a ripping sound as sharp, pointed ribs burst out of my chest at my command, tearing holes in my jumpsuit. I seized the end of one and ripped it free, the advanced healing that came along with this mutation quickly closing the hole it had come from.

"Jesus!" I vaguely heard Bucky yelp and jerk away from me, but it hit me like a punch in the gut. I was already moving though, the detached rib scything through the air. I hurled it and it struck the wall inches from Schmidt's head, sticking there and quivering with force.

"You are deluded captain!" Schmidt yelled, tossing the mask into the flames below. "You pretend to be a simple soldier but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind! Unlike you and those monsters at your side, I embrace it proudly!" Schmidt stepped off the catwalk, following Dr. Zola as he hustled through a door into the waiting elevator. "Without fear!"

"Then how come you're running?" Steve challenged.

Schmidt pressed a button and the doors slid closed over him. Steve got no response. Another explosion ripped through the factory, rattling the walls around us. Steve looked around and I did too, studiously not looking anywhere near Bucky. I didn't want to see the disgust on his face.

"Up here!" Steve said, dashing to the stairs. We followed him up two more levels and out, stopping by an I-beam bridge that ran all the way across to the other side. A winch dangled from the middle. The I-beams were already moving, the join in the center just above the winch shaking.

"Let's go, one at a time," Steve said, and moved to push Yori out onto the beam. She snarled at him from behind her mask and stepped away.

"I don't need a way across," she sniffed, shucking her coat. "I have my own."

Her wings spread wide, nearly clipping Steve, and she lunged over the edge of the rail, dropping out of sight for a moment. There was a loud rush of air as she shot back up into view and crossed the gap with three big sweeps, landing on the opposite platform.

"Bucky, you go," I urged, pushing him towards the beam. He shook his head, grabbing my arm.

"Nuh uh, Belle, not until you go," he insisted, blue eyes burning into me worriedly. "You shouldn't have even come after me, what were you thinking?"

"Now's not the time, just go, I've got my own way across," I lied, urging him forward. He looked understandably skeptical, but he'd just seen a woman fly and seen me sprout bones out of my chest, so he seemed willing enough to take me at my word, edging over the rail and onto the beams cautiously. He began to pick his way across, arms out wide to try and keep his balance as the beam swayed under him.

The opposite end slipped suddenly, the shaking knocking it loose. The beam tipped just as Bucky reached the middle, dipping down on the other end. Bucky nearly lost his balance but was able to regain it. The shaking started again and there was a great squealing of metal as the other end of the beam began to slip. Bucky ran, taking long strides, and leaped for the opposite catwalk as the beam dropped out from under his feet.

He hit the outside of the rail, hanging on. Yori seized the back of his shirt and ruthlessly dragged him over the edge.

"There's gotta be a rope or something!" Bucky shouted desperately as the beams crashed into the flaming factory below.

"No, just go!" Steve yelled.

"Not without you both!" Bucky retorted immediately, slamming his palms down angrily on the railing. He seemed offended that Steve would even suggest it.

"Y-You in the mask!" Steve called uncertainly. "Can you get us across?"

Yori hesitated, but shook her head. "No, I can't carry that much weight!"

Steve looked at me like he was seriously considering just heaving me over and hoping for the best for himself, but then his eyes slipped past me, darting around for a way across. He seized the railing and groaned with effort. There was a great screeching noise as the inch-thick rail bent backwards. He offered a hand to me.

"I'll hold onto you and jump," he explained.

I shook my head. "We're too heavy together, even you couldn't manage that!"

"We've gotta try!"

I shook my head, "No we don't, damn it!"

I must have been crazy, I _had_ to be crazy for even thinking about it, but I knew I didn't have another choice. No way was Steve going over first, which meant I had to go across, and that left me one option. I had to jump.

I ran back as far as I could. Steve's eyes widened as he realized what I was going to do and I heard Bucky scream from the other side, "Josie, _don't!"_

I wheeled, dropping onto all fours. Like a big cat I ran forwards, keeping my weight low and pushing with my arms and my legs. My feet hit the edge of the catwalk and I lunged with everything in me, my arms stretched out. I felt the heat below and resisted the urge to look down at the fire below me. I strained my arms, trying to reach even farther. My fingers just grazed the railings and my heart dropped.

 _This is gonna hurt…_

Strong hands grabbed my wrists and held me, dragging me over the edge and pulling me into a fierce embrace. I didn't care enough to be ashamed that I was trembling with aftershocks of fear, my heart going a hundred miles an hour in my chest. That was, without a doubt, the scariest thing I'd ever done.

"You're gonna give me a heart attack Belle, you really are," Bucky whispered in my ear hoarsely. I smiled faintly and snuggled into his chest. I would savor this moment, because later on, when the adrenaline wore off and reality hit him, I was sure Bucky wouldn't want to ever be this close to me again.

"Move it, you big idiot!" Yori screamed, pulling my attention away from Bucky.

I looked up and followed Bucky's gaze. Steve was standing at the edge of the railing, gaping after me uncertainly. I could see the indecision in his eyes. He wasn't sure he could make the jump.

"Do it or you're dead!" Yori roared, her fingers sparkling with annoyed energy.

Steve backed up, hesitated for a moment, and then leaped. We all held our breath, waiting as he hung in the air, coming closer and closer, and then began to drop along with our stomachs. His fingers barely caught the edge of the catwalk. As one, the three of us lunged to grab his arms and haul him up onto the catwalk.

"Well," Steve panted, sagging against the rail weakly. "That was dramatic."

The catwalk rattled ominously below us as yet another explosion went off.

"This way!" Steve yelled, and we sprinted towards the access hatch. Steve threw the door open and we burst into the open air of the night sky. The roof area was small, covered in cigarette butts where HYDRA operatives snuck off for a smoke. But most importantly, there was a ladder leading down over the edge of the building.

The sight of the burning factory was probably wonderful, but we didn't bother to look, the three of us just breaking for the ladder, Steve and Bucky both shoving me towards it first. I didn't argue this time, just started heading down. I'd let go and drop a half-dozen rungs, catch hold, and drop a half-dozen more.

Yori had no such limitations like we did. She just leaped over the edge of the roof and spread her wings, catching the wind and gliding down. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her hit the ground and break for a nearby truck, climbing inside.

I dropped the last couple of feet as the engine revved and grinned as Yori pulled up by the ladder, swinging the door open wide. Behind her mask, I could see her eyes glittering with delight at all the action of the night.

"You called for a ride?" she asked drily. I threw myself into the cab and Bucky followed me in, slamming the door shut as Steve crawled into the bed. Yori floored the gas and we went tearing across the factory grounds. Things were smoking and blowing up, walls had come down, and craters littered the dirt. I grinned at the mayhem that had been unleashed during our escape. The factory was completely destroyed.

A gaping hole in the wall around the complex was our escape route. Yori ruthlessly plowed over a pair of HYDRA agents and drove through it.

"Do we have any specific place to head?" she asked.

"That way," I said, pointing in the direction of the clearing. Yori took one look at the trees and slammed on the break.

"This behemoth isn't getting through there. Time to run!"

We flung the doors open and shot out. Steve came bounding out of the back, leading the charge as we tore through the trees in the direction of the clearing. The noise of the factory coming down faded behind us as we ran. Either we had lost the HYDRA agents or they were more concerned with evacuation than us, because no one seemed to be following us.

We burst into the clearing and stopped in a knot, panting and wheezing. The men who had escaped, some of them lingering around a couple of trucks or, of all things, a tank, looked up at us as we caught our breath.

"Looks like they made it," someone muttered.

* * *

I walked on Steve's left, Yori to my left. Bucky was on Steve's other side. Jimmy trailed behind us somewhere in the shifting mass. I'd been pleased but not surprised to see he made it out. We were leading the way back into camp, the rest of the men walking in a mass behind us. Those that were too tired or too hurt to walk had taken positions in the trucks we'd acquired, a couple of them lounging on top of the tank that rumbled along behind us.

We crested a rise in the path and the camp was spread out below us. A few soldiers had heard the noise and had already assembled, watching curiously. Their faces lit up as some of them recognized their lost comrades and a cheer started up, claps and shouts drawing more people out.

The men behind us began to split off, moving toward welcoming knots of friends. Phillips emerged from the crowd with Peggy on his heels. She looked relieved when she saw me, but her eyes quickly shifted to Steve, looking him over for wounds. I couldn't be too hurt by that one.

"Some of these men need medical attention," Steve said, forgoing a greeting as Phillips approached. "I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action."

"That's not necessary," Phillips said shortly. He knew he couldn't do anything to Steve, not after he'd pulled so many men out of enemy lines. His eyes flicked to me, and his expression was visibly relieved when he saw I was alright. Then his face went harder than steel. I winced.

"You and Agent Carter will just have to answer to Josie's family once they find out you dragged her into an active war zone. Believe me, they're worse than a court marshal."

"In their defense, I leaped out of the plane on my own," I put in. Phillips gave me a look that clearly said he didn't care if I'd stowed away in Steve's helmet. Then his eyes flicked past me and landed on Yori, widening predictably.

"Did you stop at the circus on your way back?" he demanded. Yori tensed.

"Be very careful, Colonel Phillips," she growled from behind her mask. Phillip blinked.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" he asked incredulously. "How do you know my name?"

Steve stepped between them before anything could happen. He looked between us hesitantly, then at Phillips.

"I think… I think we have a lot to talk about," he said uncertainly, looking to me. He was leaving it up to me to explain what Yori and I had done in the factory, and I loved him for it. But he and Bucky both deserved an explanation of what they'd seen.

"Yes we do," I sighed. "Phillips, we all need to talk privately."

Phillips looked at me, but he could see by the look on face how serious I was about this. "Define _we."_

"You, me, Steve, Bucky, Yori. Peggy and Howard too," I admitted. Howard already knew part of it, and Peggy had been a part of the rescue mission. She deserved to know why I'd flung myself out of the plane without a care in the world.

"If we're going to be discussing what I think we're going to be, I think I should be there too."

Jimmy appeared from inside the crowd and moved to my side protectively. He nodded at Yori in greeting.

"Tsukuda."

"Howlett," she replied. They'd never met but they'd heard enough about each other from me to make the connections.

"And just who the hell are you?" Phillips demanded.

"Jimmy Howlett, Canadian Army," Jimmy snapped back. I placed a placating hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, Jimmy's involved as well. He should be there too."

Phillips looked at all of us skeptically, but finally he nodded. "I think that can be arranged."

* * *

The medical tent was crowded when I walked in. Aside from the normal wounded the flood of men coming back from the HYDRA base had filled every available bunk, and there were a few men who were capable just standing around waiting to be seen. I nodded to a couple of the men who recognized me from the escape.

Bucky was in a back corner, a curtain drawn around his bed. He was of the most concern to the medical team, seeing as he'd been the one who was found strapped to a table in the lab. Who knew what had been done to him? I certainly didn't, and I hated not knowing things. That was why I planned to take some blood myself for my own analysis.

"Josie," Bucky grinned when I stepped around the curtain with a tray in my hand.

"Roll up your sleeve," I said dispassionately, setting the tray of materials down on the edge of his bed.

Bucky did as I asked, but frowned. "Have you branched out into the medical field as well?" he asked with another slightly smaller grin as he rolled up his shirt. I wrapped the rubber strap around his upper arm and began to prod at the inside of his elbow, looking for a vein.

"I learned a few things from the doctor on the project," I explained, swabbing the vein I'd found with an alcohol swab. "This will pinch."

"What- ow!" Bucky winced as I jabbed the needle into his skin. I had to resist the urge to flinch right along with him and immediately start apologizing. The blood began to flow into the connected vial. When it was full I switched it out with another, keeping my eyes fixed on the blood.

"Belle," Bucky said, his voice softer. "Is something wrong?"

"I need to know what chemicals you were exposed to in the HYDRA base," I said as I pulled the needle out and placed a band-aid over it. I tucked the vials of blood into my pocket and dumped the used needle and piping into the trash. I pulled off the rubber strap with a pop and turned away.

"Phillips wants us to meet in his tent in an hour," I said softly, and I left.


	21. The Meeting

Chapter 21: The Meeting

All of the flaps on the large command tent had been closed and tied shut. Phillips sat behind his desk, with Howard lounging in a chair nearby. Peggy sat as well. Bucky and Jimmy leaned against a table spread with maps with their arms crossed, both of them shooting each other cautious looks. Yori had found a chair near the desk. Howard was shooting her edgy looks. I perched on the edge of Phillips' desk and Steve leaned against a support pole in the middle.

"Well?" Phillips asked after a long, awkward silence. "What do you need to explain?"

I opened my mouth, not quite sure how to begin the long and convoluted explanation.

"I think it'll be easiest if I just show them," Yori said after I faltered. I slanted my eyes at her.

"You don't have to-"

"I know, but it's easiest. Gets the ball rolling, so to speak."

First Yori reached up and pulled off the hat that had miraculously stayed on her head the whole time. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders. Most of it was coal black, but a few chunks were a bright, unnatural red. Then she shucked her coat. Her tail slipped from behind her and draped over the arms of the chair with her massive leathery wings. Peggy gasped, Phillips' eyes widened, and Howard actually scooted a little farther away. Yori reached a clawed hand up and removed the mask from her face. Her eyes were a burning red color and red markings ringed her face, spikes that started from her hairline, her jaw, her temples, and pointed in towards her nose. She smiled, revealing slightly elongated, pointy canines framed by naturally blood red lips.

"I didn't hallucinate that," Bucky said faintly, like he hadn't been sure. I felt his eyes linger on me but I didn't look at him.

"Damn," Jimmy chuckled. "I'd heard about you from Jo here, but I didn't realize just quite how badass you are."

Yori smiled, lounging back in her chair. "You know how to flatter a girl," she snickered. "Come on, I've heard about you from Josie as well." Her eyes flashed with interest. "Let me see them."

Jimmy raised a hand and clenched his fist. Three bony claws a foot in length extended from between his fingers. Yori nodded approvingly.

"Are they are strong as Josie's?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Nah, but I'm stronger and faster than she is."

"Ealum." Phillips' voice was strained, but he was still looking very much in control of himself, which was more than I could say for some people who'd seen Yori. "What am I looking at here?"

"Yes, I think I'd like an explanation as well," Peggy said. Her eyes lingered on Yori's tail, the spade-like tip of which was twitching like a cat's.

Howard, bless him, spoke up. "They're like you, right?" he guessed, looking at me. I nodded, and Phillips flinched.

"Okay, I may have missed some things, but I know you don't have wings."

I shook my head. "No, I don't. That's not… We, the three of us, are all mutants."

"Mutants," Phillips repeated bluntly. "I'm gonna need more than that."

"We carry a mutated gene," I explain. "It gives us… special powers. Some of them are invisible until used, like Jimmy and I, but some of them have, er…" I glanced at Yori.

"Cosmetic influences," Yori supplied, reaching up to touch one of the stripes on her cheek.

"There are only a handful of us that I've ever found," I continued. "All different, from what I've seen. Yori can fly and use her tail, but she also has-"

"This." The whip of light uncurled from Yori's fingers. She snapped it over head with a crack and then let it vanish.

"You've seen Jimmy's claws, but he can also heal at a greatly accelerated rate," I said, pointing to Jimmy. "You could shoot him in the chest and it wouldn't even drop him."

"And what about you?" Peggy asked weakly. "Do you have the…?" She raised her hand questioningly, remembering Yori's comment.

I winced. "Not… not quite. I'm… You know this Howard, but I'm a chimera," I explained. He nodded. He knew all about that, he'd even called me Tigress a time or two. "That means I have two different sets of genetic material making up my body," I explained for the benefit of everyone in the tent who didn't have a basic knowledge of genetics. "Two different sets of genetic material. _Both_ of which are mutated."

"That still doesn't answer her question," Phillips said, his eyes fixed on me.

"I'm similar to Jimmy in a way. We're both what I call 'feral mutants.' That is, people whose mutations have certain animalistic characteristics."

"Tigress," Howard realized.

I nodded. "Not just because of the fact that my skin has stripes under black light," I explained. "The 'feral' package usually includes enhanced speed and strength and enhanced senses. I can hear and smell better and I'm more flexible than a normal person and on top of that, I have an instinctive side that displays several qualities of a big cat."

"Like what?" Steve asked.

Jimmy snorted. "Ever seen her near catnip? It's hilarious."

I flushed. "Aside from that-"

"You also had a really bad tendency towards biting and scratching in a fight," Yori recalled. "And you like going for the throat."

I winced. "Yeah, that too."

"What was that you did on the catwalk?" I froze as Bucky spoke up. His eyes were on me but I still couldn't look at him. I didn't want to see the disgust. "You made… spikes or something come out of you."

Howard made a face. "Yeah, Erskine said that was a little off-putting."

Phillips looked like at any moment he might blow steam. "Erskine _knew?"_

Howard nodded. "Yeah. We both knew about the second bit. She told us. Left out the big cat thing, though," he said, looking at me in annoyance.

"I can manipulate my osteoblasts and osteoclasts," I explained. "In layman's terms, I can harden or soften my bones, make new ones, and force them out of my body. Because of that, it also comes with advanced healing, like Jimmy."

"That's why she told us," Howard said knowledgably. "Once she found out Steve was going to be our guinea pig she got all anxious, particularly when we couldn't get the survival rate as high as she wanted. She told us about her advanced regeneration and gave us a sample to work with. That's probably part of why you survived the procedure," he added to Steve, whose eyes widened.

"You told them about this... to help me?" he said, looking incredibly touched. Also, incredibly guilty. "You didn't have to share your secret, I'm sure I would have been okay…"

"There was a three in four chance that was true," I agreed. "But there was also a one in four chance it wasn't. And I made a promise to try and keep you out of trouble." I lowered my gaze, focusing on my feet. "I don't break promises."

"That's why you weren't afraid to go with Steve," Peggy realized. "You knew if you got hurt you'd just heal."

I nodded sheepishly. I felt worn and thin, like butter scraped over too much bread. So much had come spilling out today and I was exhausted after running around the HYDRA factory and surrounding forest like a madwoman. I could feel myself crashing fast. I sagged tiredly at the edge of the desk and pushed myself off of it.

"If that's all, I'm going to go," I said quietly.

"I think I'll join you in a moment," Yori said, reaching for her disguise. I gave her directions to my tent and then, when no one stopped me, I stepped out into the camp.

* * *

Bucky watched Josie walk out of the tent. She hadn't looked at him the whole time she'd been in the tent. Back in the medical tent she hadn't either, she'd been as cold an impersonal as any nurse. Even when he'd asked her a question she'd still avoided looking at him. In fact, she hadn't looked at him once since those spikes – bones, he thought, and felt a little queasy – had popped out of her back in the factory.

He'd been equal parts delighted and horrified to see her. His first thought had been pleasure to see her, followed immediately by terror at the idea that HYDRA had captured her. When he'd realized she had come with Steve to rescue him, he'd again been touched that she would risk so much to come after him and appalled that she'd risked so much to come after _him._

His heart had nearly stopped when she leaped over that huge gap. He'd been so certain she wasn't going to make it, and she nearly hadn't. Once he'd gotten her over the railing he couldn't resist pulling her into his arms, reassuring himself that she was really okay.

Then entire walk back to camp from the factory, she hovered near her friend in the mask. Bucky had been quietly curious about the lady behind the snarling demon face, but he'd brushed it off as some kind of idiosyncrasy. He'd been pleased to let Josie linger protectively by her friend, contenting himself with a few glances a minute just to remind himself that she was okay.

He'd thought, when she walked into the medical tent and approached him, that she wanted to talk, to catch up, just like they used to. But she'd been icy cold and distant. Her eyes were always sparkling when she talked to him, but they'd been dim and tired. Her answers were short and stilted. It… hurt. A lot.

H couldn't deny, he'd been a little off-put when Josie had at first just sprouted spikes out of nowhere. He could still remember the sickening sucking sound that he'd heard when she pulled that spike – _rib_ – out of her torso and the animalistic snarl she'd worn when she'd thrown it. He remembered the way she'd dropped down on all fours and how easily she'd run that way.

It had spun his mind when Yori started shucking protective layers and exposing wings and a tail and those markings on her face. Everything about her, from her eyes to her teeth to her nails screamed inhuman. And then Jimmy had just casually shoved some bony claws out of his fist like it was nothing. He couldn't quite make it fit in his head, the idea that people could do these kinds of things, even though he'd seen it with his own eyes.

Then Josie began to explain, just like she always did when someone didn't understand something. She was great that way. He knew people in school who'd sneered down their noses at those who asked them to explain something, or who had made the answer so convoluted you walked off more confused than you approached them. Josie never did that, she just laid out all the facts.

He remembered their conversations at Camp Lehigh like they were yesterday. They and the picture still tucked inside his waistband, hidden from the HYDRA guards, had been the things that kept him fighting when the guards tried to beat them down, had kept him smiling when some of the other men cried themselves to sleep. Every night he was in that hell that he wasn't strapped to a damn table – the indignity of that one still rankled – he had fallen asleep looking at her smiling face.

The picture itself wasn't anything special. It was just Josie. She was sitting under a tree with a book in her lap, just like he'd found her doing so often at basic. She was looking up at the camera and smiling widely, one hand turning a page. Her grey eyes seemed to sparkle even through the black and white.

He'd seen her eyes sparkle a lot like that during their conversations, whenever it was something she was particularly passionate about. He remembered it the days they'd talked about mutations. She'd explained about her field of human mutation, even told him he was a mutant. He'd asked if she was one and, thinking back, he remembered her eyes widening slightly at the question before she answered. When she'd confirmed it, those words now carried so much more weight. She was telling him as much as she was able to at the time.

And considering what she said about an animalistic side, her choice of reading about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde made a lot of sense. The book took on a whole new meaning when you looked at it from the perspective of someone who was as much in touch with their instinctive, animalistic side as Josie explained herself to be. He remembered the slightly hurt look on her face when he'd shuddered at the main character and now he felt like kicking himself.

" _Because I'm a monster too!"_

There had been so much rage on her face when she'd snarled that at Schmidt, but it came out so easily. Bucky realized with a jolt that she really did mean it. She considered herself a monster compared to normal people, or at least, knew that a lot of other people would see her as a monster. His heart broke as he wondered what she must have been through to reach that conclusion.

He wondered if that's why she hadn't so much as looked at him. Did she expect him to reject her? To push her away and call her a monster, a freak?

Bucky's eyes flicked to Steve, who was still lingering by the support post. Steve gave him a sympathetic look. He'd noticed how Josie refused to look at him as well.

Yori cleared her throat, drawing all eyes to her as she began tucking her hair into her hat.

"Quit looking like a kicked puppy," she snapped at Bucky. His eyes widened in surprise. "None of us who have the option come clean about what we are. As you may have noticed, that leads to people wanting to cut us open and find out how we tick. She's been told since she was a child to protect herself from that, and she knows what could happen if she told someone who was normal about what she was."

"I wouldn't-" Bucky started angrily, offended by the very idea.

Josie wasn't entirely human, and that had thrown him off at first, but it would throw anyone off, wouldn't it? He'd never met anyone like her, he already knew that. That was just even more true now.

"I'm getting that," Yori cut him off. "Unfortunately, _I'm_ not the one who needs to understand it. Maybe you should tell _her_ , yes?" She rolled her eyes when he just gaped at her. "Go after her _now_ , baka, or I'll change my mind about letting you anywhere near my protégée."

Bucky didn't know what she'd just called him, but it definitely wasn't polite. He also knew she was right. He needed to get to Josie and talk some things out with her before she withdrew from him so much he couldn't get her back.

Bucky darted out of the tent, intent on seeking out his Belle.

"What do you mean, your protégée?" Phillips demanded as Bucky hustled out. "You barely look older than Josie."

Yori smirked. "I know. Suffice it to say, I look damn good for my age."

* * *

I sat at the edge of my bed, head buried in my hands.

I had never wanted anyone to know this about me – not anyone normal, at least. If they knew then they could judge, and if they decided I was a freak, a monster… it would hurt. It would hurt a lot. And now in one fell swoop all of the normal people who were most important to me knew about me. All of them could judge me in any way they wanted, and I was afraid of how many of them I was about to lose.

My ears pricked at the sound of footsteps coming closer. They were heavy, like the person was tired.

"Belle?" called a voice from outside. It was Bucky. Of course it was. "You decent?"

I smiled bitterly. "Debatable," I called back. "Come in."

Bucky ducked under the flap. He looked tired and worn and grungy, like he should after spending months in a prison. But he had a smile on his face, one that looked genuine, and it was enough to make me submit to hope that _maybe_ he wouldn't be angry.

"Can I sit?" Bucky asked, nodding to the end of my bed. I nodded and he set himself down beside me. For a moment we just sat there, both of us leaning forwards with our elbows on our knees.

"Are you disgusted?" I asked softly. I had to know or it was going to drive me crazy. "Just tell me, please."

Bucky didn't answer for a moment. I grew tenser and tenser with each moment that passed.

"Show me again?" Bucky requested. I looked up at him in surprise, but he was just looking at me with those big blue eyes of his, a politely questioning look on his face.

Hesitantly I offered him my hand. From inside my palm a spike of bone emerged along with a trickle of blood. I kept the tip rounded so it wasn't as threatening.

Bucky reached out with his left hand, cupping the back of my hand and lifting it higher so that he could see the spike. Slowly, he raised his other hand.

"Can I touch?" he asked curiously, tilting his head and observing the bone. I nodded wordlessly. I was frozen in place, I couldn't have denied him anything at that moment. I was on tender hooks, waiting for the hammer to fall.

Bucky trailed a finger along the bone slowly. "Can you feel that?" he asked curiously.

"Sort of." I shifted uncomfortably. "Are you disgusted?" I asked again.

Bucky sighed and dropped my hand. "Aw geez, Belle." He leaned forwards on his knees again, rubbing a palm over his face. "Disgusted's a pretty harsh word. I think unnerved is a little better."

I turned away, pulling my hand into my lap and sucking the bone back into my palm. I didn't want to _unnerve_ him anymore. The tears were prickling my eyes and this time I didn't know if I could hold them back.

"Don't look like that, Belle," Bucky begged, sounding pained. "You're breaking my heart. You didn't let me finish."

I shook my head, tears ready to fall. "What more is there to say? I unnerve you and you don't want to be around me anymore. It's hardly the first time…"

"Belle!" Bucky barked. I looked up at him, startled. "When did I say I didn't want anything to do with you?"

I blinked. "W-Well, n-normal people tend to be-"

"But I'm not normal, am I?" Bucky said supportively, grabbing my shoulders and turning me slightly to face him. "Remember? You told me once I was a mutant too. Blue eyes?" he coaxed, urging me to remember.

I smiled, remembering that day under the tree. Me surrounded by papers and Bucky lounging there while I explained human mutation.

"I'm a little jealous to be honest," Bucky said with a small chuckle. "I get pretty eyes, you get superpowers." I gave a watery laugh at that. "Belle, I think the only reason that spiky thing you do even bothers me is because… well, usually if your bones are outside your body then something's gone _wrong."_

I laughed again. "That's true," I admitted.

"You used what you could do to help Steve pull through that experiment of his," Bucky said gently, taking my hands again and folding them between his own. "I can't hate that. I don't see how anyone could. What you can do, all of you… it's amazing."

I snorted. "You would be one of the few who think that," I said softly. Bucky scowled.

"Who got you so sure that everyone was going to hate you for this?" he demanded angrily. "Who would do that?"

"Part of it was Yori," I recalled. "Her parents abandoned her when they saw her. People shunned her, called her a demon, tried to kill her. I was scared that if people knew, the same thing would happen to me. I know it was a different time, but still. And also… my stepmother," I admitted softly.

"C'mere." Bucky wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close so that I leaned up against his chest. I nuzzled there, breathing deeply and just basked in the feeling of being held. Bucky stroked my hair with his other hand and planted a kiss on top of my head.

"You don't have to tell me," he promised me. "But if you want to… I'll listen."

"It's okay." For the first time I wanted to tell someone everything about me. Probably because I could. Bucky wasn't running, he wasn't looking down his nose at me and he wasn't calling me an abomination.

"I grew up thinking there was nothing wrong with me," I began. "Granny Nevade also has a mutation, so it was accepted. My family worked hard to shelter us from any outside scorn. But then my father met Sarah. He fell in love and married her. She didn't know anything about us. When she found out…" I trailed off.

"She was appalled. Sarah's always been disgusted by my abilities. That's what started her crusade to turn me into a proper lady, but it never worked. So she turned her focus to a consolation prize – the family money. My great-grandmother Nevade is the matriarch of our family – she saw what Sarah was doing to me, how it made me feel. Nevade has made sure that Sarah can't get to a single cent of the Ealum fortune.

"It's started a bit of a silent war in the family. Dad hates what Sarah does to me, but he's an optimist. He thinks that if we spent some time together and got to know each other it would all go away. He loves me, but he also loves her. The past couple of years I decided to just step away from the family for a while. For his sake, to try and get rid of some of the tension."

For a moment we just sat, Bucky holding me and stroking my hair and me basking in his acceptance. It was something that I'd always avoided even a chance at for the sake of protecting myself.

"Damn," Bucky finally murmured. "I don't see how anyone could do that to a kid."

"Easily," I replied. "It's a fact of life for us. Family will forgive a lot, but not everything. Yori was abandoned. Jimmy never speaks about his parents, but I get the feeling there's definitely some history there. I've met a few others, and a lot of them have stories to tell." I shook my head. "It's not surprising really. Lots of people would be unnerved finding out that their best friend could… I don't know, set them on fire or something."

I buried closer to Bucky and inhaled deeply. His chest shook with a laugh.

"Are you… Are you _smelling_ me?" he asked, sounding like he was torn between confusion and amusement. My eyes widened and my face burned red. "Belle?"

"You… smell good," I admitted shyly, pulling away from him a little. "I mentioned my sense of smell is heightened, right? I can smell the unique scent of a person."

Bucky laughed outright at that one. "Belle, I spent a couple of months in a cage and I haven't cleaned up any more than sticking my head in a bucket the whole time. There is _no way_ I smell good."

* * *

 **We just took a sharp turn towards Mary Sue, I know. Let me explain - this is part of what inspired this story in the first place. A friend of mine was studying genetics and I got curious. I stumbled across chimerism and was interested in the concept - I also wondered how normal genetic mutations could interact with x-men style mutations. Thus, Josie was born as my mental experiment. I'd wanted to do a BuckyXOC for some time and she seemed perfect, particularly since her own genetics were the perfect thing to get her interested in the subject.**

 **And now, a word on both Yori and Josie's abilities. I've had a couple people say they were surprised by this or they weren't expecting it. I'd like to explain where I got the ideas for their abilities.**

 **Josie: As previously mentioned, chimeras sometimes have lines on their body, hence the UV scene in a previous chapter. Tigress was an appropriate code name for her so I decided that her second mutation would be something similar to Wolverine's animalistic tendencies. It also offers the potential for some interesting scenes and conflicts. As for her bones, well, that was plucked from the character of Kimimaro from Naruto. He also had the ability to manipulate his bones and advanced healing. I adore his character and think he was gone too soon, and I think his abilities present some fascinating possibilities, so I used him as another basis for a power.**

 **Yori: Yori has been bouncing around my head for some time now. I have no idea where she came from, she was just there one day. I wanted Josie to have a sort of mentor so she didn't come out of the gate kicking butt for no reason, and I also wanted Steve to have someone who could relate to him after he was defrosted, so I decided to use her here.**

 **Yori's abilities and bits of her appearance were also inspired by a mash-up of characters from various anime. I took the idea of having bat-like wings from Mira Jane of Fairy Tail. Also, if you've ever seen Inuyasha, you will probably recognize her 'light whip' as a technique of Sesshomaru's, as well as her having fangs and claws. His markings also became the inspiration for Yori's, although she has considerably more of them. Also, Yori's future code name of 'Youkai' comes from the demons of Inuyasha as well. In the show, Sesshomaru is a very accomplished swordsman, and I gave Yori a bit of that as well. Also, because I think Japanese weapons are absolutely gorgeous - hence her asking for her sword last chapter.**

 **So, there you go! Kind of a behind the scenes look at these characters. I don't know if any of you care but I always find it kind of interesting when an author gives some background on where the idea for characters comes from.**


	22. Request

Chapter 22: Request

Bucky sat and talked with me for nearly an hour after that. He asked a couple of questions – about my abilities, about Yori's and Jimmy's and how I knew them. It wasn't all about that though. He asked about my family and I asked about his. We talked about random, meaningless things and laughed every now and then. It was just like how it had been back at Camp Lehigh, but now I didn't have to hold anything back.

 _I loved it._

When night was falling Bucky left, as much because he was starving and wanted to clean up as for propriety's sake. I was smiling as I changed into a nightgown and lay back on my cot with my copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For once, it didn't make me feel bitter or sad.

"Josie?"

Peggy poked her head into the tent and then stepped inside. Yori followed her in, concealed behind her clothes once more. I watched as Peggy sent an uncertain glance behind her. It twinged a little in my stomach, but I couldn't blame her. Even I had taken a while to get used to Yori.

"Colonel Phillips has said that Yori will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. We'll all be heading back to London soon," Peggy said, summing up what had happened at the meeting after I left.

"I bet that'll be nice, seeing home," I offered as Peggy began to pull a pair of pajamas out of her footlocker. "Pull something out of my clothes for the night," I offered Yori.

She shook her head. "I'd have to tear holes in anything you have," she disagreed. "I'll just sleep in what I have."

Yori began to strip off her hat and mask. Her coat slid off her shoulders and Peggy's eyes lingered on her wings and tail.

"Are you okay?" I asked Peggy. It was a pretty vague question but she knew what I meant.

Peggy gave a shaky exhalation. "I've found out one of my best friends has super powers. It's… surprising, to say the least." She gave a little laugh. "But I think mostly I'm annoyed."

"Annoyed?" That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Was she mad I'd kept it from her?

"Yes. All those times we ran in the mornings or sparred… you were holding back, weren't you?" Peggy asked wryly.

Yori scoffed. "If she wanted to, Josie could have torn you apart. I should know, I taught her myself."

"You were always faster though," I submitted.

"Well yes. I can _fly,"_ Yori said smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"What is that like?" Peggy asked curiously as she changed for bed. "I've been in an airplane before but I can't imagine what it must be like to be outside."

"Hmm," Yori mused thoughtfully. "Exhilarating. Terrifying. Cold," she admitted.

I was relieved to see Yori and Peggy getting along decently. I was worried they'd disagree over a lot of things. Yori was intensely proud, bordering on arrogant, and she wasn't exactly fond of humans in general. I couldn't blame her for that though. You had to have a backbone to deal with Yori. Thankfully, Peggy had that in spades.

"Did your soldier speak to you?" Peggy asked slyly as she slid into bed.

I blushed and nodded into my pillow. "He did."

"Well?" Yori asked, settling herself in with her head at the foot of my bed on her side, her wings draping behind her. Her tail wrapped around my leg under the covers and squeezed coaxingly. "Don't keep me in suspense, I need to know if I have to rip his head off or not."

"You don't. He was… fine with it," I said dizzily. I still couldn't believe it. It felt like a wonderful dream.

Yori's tail squeezed once more. "Good," she said, and with that we all settled in for a decent night's sleep.

* * *

My decent night's sleep didn't last long. The next thing I knew I was being woken up by an intense pressure around my leg and my bed shaking. Someone was muttering in fevered Japanese.

A match struck to me left as Peggy lit the lamp. Her hair was a wild mess and her eyes were bleary.

"What's going on?"

At the end of my bed, Yori had her hands clenched on either side of the mattress. Her face was twisted in pain and anger. Her tail was starting to get painfully tight around my leg and she was murmuring wildly.

"What's she saying?" Peggy asked, creeping closer. "Is she having a nightmare?"

I nodded grimly. Yori had had nightmares for as long as I'd known her – I shouldn't be surprised they were still happening, particularly after all she'd been through with HYDRA. I listened to the words spilling out of her mouth and felt sick.

"Don't, not anymore, I can't take it. Please stop. Kill me, kill me, kill me," I translated, and Peggy gave a soft gasp of horror as I reached down, grabbing Yori's shoulder and shaking. "Yori, Yori wake up. Wake up, it's only a nightmare! Wake up!" I said louder, shaking her more roughly.

I shouldn't have been surprised by what happened next, but it still threw me off a little. Yori came awake with a start. Her tail yanked at my leg, dragging me down the bed. In one twist she was looming over me, wings spread as widely as they could in the tent. Her face was twisted in rage and her hands squeezed at my throat.

"Get off of her!" Peggy yelled, grabbing Yori's arm and tugging. Yori didn't so much as jolt from Peggy's frantic tugs but it did distract her enough for her to blink away the last dregs of sleep from her eyes. She realized what she was doing and whipped her hands back, sliding off of me and settling on her rear.

"Sorry," she said softly as I sat up, rubbing my throat. It hurt a little, but I could already feel that fading.

"Not a problem," I assured her. "You want to talk about it?"

"Do I ever?"

"No, but I always ask."

"And I always turn you down," Yori said, twisting to lie back on the bed and throwing one wing over her. It covered her entire torso and head. "Ignore me, go back to sleep," she said, the words muffled by the wing.

Peggy looked at me uncertainly.

"Are you alright?" she asked me worriedly. I pulled my hand away from my throat. "It's not even red," Peggy said in awe. I smiled.

"Advanced healing. Go back to sleep," I urged. "I'll handle her if this happens again."

"I don't need to be _handled_ ," Yori interjected, sounding offended.

"Sure. Go to sleep, Yori."

* * *

The base in London was disguised as the office building of an ink company. In the lobby there was even a very bored woman named Jenny who answered the phone with a monotone, "Kingsley Ink Company, please hold," every few minutes. Past her there was an elevator bank that led up to the top floors. Those were apartments for the operatives who lived on site.

It was when you took the elevator down that things got interesting. Covering the underside of a block or two there was a massive complex that included a lab, cafeteria, meeting rooms, planning rooms, communications array, gym, firing range, and a few other random odds and ends. That was the real SSR base.

Not many people stayed on site, only key personnel. Howard had been ordered to stay on site, actually, and so had I, by extension. Yori was staying nearby as well, more for lack of a better place to go. The SSR seemed to be under the impression that she was their cooperative prisoner though. Steve had a room down the hall from me. Phillips and Peggy also stayed along with a couple of other officers and lab workers. The rest of the personnel were set up in an apartment complex a couple of blocks over.

Jimmy had left before we even headed to the UK. He'd been called back to his unit by a very irritable Canadian man who'd sent orders by yelling them down the phone to a very nonplussed Phillips. I was a little sad to see him go – it had been a while since I'd seem Jimmy – but I knew very well that he was a soldier before anything else. He and his brother Victor fought in wars like it was a hobby.

"I don't know why I have to stay here," Howard grumbled into his whiskey as he and I shared drinks in his room. I rolled my eyes.

"For one, it wouldn't do you much good to have an apartment seeing as you rarely leave the lab lately."

Howard shrugged innocently and sipped from his glass. It was my family's label, and I'd very happily gotten him addicted. "It's not my fault you and Rogers brought me back such fun toys," he said chidingly. "I'm still playing with the cases, haven't even gotten to the glowy blue stuff. Besides, you can't judge," he said pointedly.

I really couldn't. Ever since we'd gotten back to a decent lab I'd been peering obsessively into a microscope, going over and over the samples of Bucky's blood. I wasn't entirely surprised by what I'd found. The blood now held similar properties to Steve's post-transformation. HYDRA was still working on Erskine's serum, and they'd used Bucky as a lab rat.

They weren't even close to the real product though. Near as I could tell, all they'd done was manage to make Bucky a little more… durable. He'd be a little stronger, a little faster, probably wouldn't get sick as often, and he would probably heal a little better. It was not enough progress to be concerned about.

I was still combing through the samples though because I was afraid of something spontaneously appearing, something that had reacted badly with something else or something that would spell problems for Bucky.

"Have I told you about Phillips' recent _request?"_ Howard asked, rolling his eyes disdainfully on the last word. "I don't think he's realized yet that I don't technically work for him."

"Howard…" I chastened.

"Yeah, I know, he's an officer, but he can be a real ass."

"Hark who's talking," I mumbled into my drink, tipping the glass back to hide my smile.

"What was that?"

"What did he ask?" I said innocently, setting my glass down. Howard looked at me skeptically. I was pretty sure he knew exactly what I'd said, but he seemed willing to let it slide.

"He wants me to start working on better guns for his new 'elite team.' You know, the ones he wants roving the countryside blowing up HYDRA factories with Steve. " Howard snorted. "Guns are boring, there's only so much you can do to one."

"That elite team," I said thoughtfully. "Do you know who's going to be on it?"

Howard shook his head. "I know Phillips is combing through files of sharpshooters and combat experts but Steve's got his own plan. He wants to use a bunch of guys from the factory. Phillips has given him a green light to see if they're interested tomorrow night, and after that I think he's going to let them go on a trial run. See how effective they are before Phillips starts tossing marksmen at Steve."

Howard downed the rest of his glass and poured himself another, taking a long, pointedly tired gulp.

"What would you think if I told you I wanted to join them?"

Howard sputtered on his drink, hacking and choking. Quickly I leaned forwards, patting him on the back. His eyes were watering as he pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve. He dabbed at his red face as he stared at me incredulously.

"You what?"

This wasn't just a spur of the moment question. Ever since I'd heard that the plan was for Steve to lead a team, I'd wanted to be on it. Perhaps it was because so many of my family members were fighting and I wanted to do just as much as they did. Maybe I was running on Tigress's instincts and wanted a chance to flex my claws, so to speak. Maybe I was an adrenaline junkie just looking for my next fix. No matter what it was, I _needed_ to at least ask.

"I want to help," I shrugged. "More than that, I _can_ help. If nothing more than being a bullet shield-"

Howard went grey. "Don't say that," he begged hoarsely. "Please, I've seen you get shot once. I know it doesn't bother you, but it does me."

"I have these abilities, Howard, and I should be using them," I insisted, leaning forward.

"What about Yori?" Howard protested. "You don't see Yori signing up!"

I bit my lip. "Actually…"

Yori was where I'd gotten the idea. She was fully aware that as a citizen of Japan her status with the Army was very tenuous. She was looking for an opportunity to do something that would prove she wasn't going to pass over information. On top of that, Yori genuinely enjoyed fighting in the same way Jimmy and Victor did, and more than that, she was good at it. She had a bone to pick with HYDRA in particular.

Come down to it, I'd realized that I enjoyed fighting. I'd always known that on some level. I'd enjoyed my spars with various opponents more than I should. I chalked it up to instinct, but I'd never been in a real fight before the factory. Now I knew what it felt like, and far from being as afraid as I'd always thought I would be, I was excited by it. I had never felt so powerful or confident in myself before.

"Oh that's just great," Howard groaned, slumping back in his chair. "It's not like I own you, I can't tell you you're not allowed…"

"Yes, but you generously gave me this job when you didn't have to," I reminded him. "I don't want you to think I'm spitting on your charity just to run off and have an adventure."

Howard mumbled something about Southern manners into his glass. "I won't be offended," he allowed. "But you know Phillips isn't going to let it fly."

"You might be surprised," I countered. "He gave Steve carte blanche on choosing the men, didn't he?"

"Emphasis on _men_ ," Howard retorted.

"Then I'll go on a trial run just like all of the men. I've already proved myself once and so has Yori. We're more dangerous than any man Steve could possibly pick because of what we can do," I reasoned.

"How about this?" Howard bargained. "I'll back you and your wicked winged friend with Phillips, but only if you get the other guys Steve picks to agree for you to join them. _All_ of the men, not just a majority."

I turned it over. Howard was a good friend, he really was, and he was a great ally. He could literally blackmail the Army, and he wouldn't hesitate to do the same to Phillips. People agreed to let Howard do things just to shut him up. I was pretty sure I could get Phillips on my own, but with Howard backing me it was almost assured.

"That includes Steve!" Howard added pointedly. "And you know he'll want Bucky with him. They won't want you in danger."

I bit my lip. "Then I'll just have to prove I won't be in danger. Alright Howard, you have a deal," I said, holding out a hand to Howard. He shook, and we went back to our drinks.

* * *

"Steve, are you open to company for a moment?" I called, tapping on his door. Yori stood beside me, dressed as usual. The SSR was aware of her appearance, but she still wasn't fond of the stares she got, or the whispers. I knew that ordinarily she'd just leave a place she wasn't welcome, but her position wasn't quite so secure here. To minimize, she kept herself covered and spent most of her time in her room.

The door opened and Steve was revealed. He was wearing a brown uniform with the jacket off. He held the door open for us, beckoning us in.

"Have a seat," Steve said, gesturing to a small table with two chairs. I noticed he left the door open and smirked slightly. Howard never bothered, which was part of why half the SSR thought I was sleeping with him. I didn't mind though, because half the SSR also thought every woman in the building was sleeping with Howard.

"Did you want to talk about something?" Steve asked, sitting on the end of his bed and leaning forward on his knees. He looked at Yori and added hesitantly, "Er… you can make yourself comfortable… if you'd like…"

Yori began to shed layers, looking mildly relieved. I knew that she was fonder of Steve than she let on. She was at least a little bit fond of anyone who didn't stare at her, even though she frequently threw her appearance in other's faces as a shock tactic or to establish dominance.

"We do have a question we want to ask," I said as Yori made herself comfortable.

"Go ahead," Steve urged, and to his credit, his eyes didn't linger for more than a second on Yori's face. I glanced at her and smiled slightly. Her eyes were narrowed and she was observing Steve icily. Yori was used to people being afraid of her. She didn't seem to know how to handle Steve treating her like any other person.

Suddenly she smirked. "We want to join your team," Yori drawled. "We want to join your crusade against HYDRA."

Steve's eyes widened. He looked from Yori to me, like he was expecting me to disagree or tell her to stop playing around. I just nodded in agreement.

"We both have abilities, and we want to use them to help," I continued. "The best way for us to do that is with you."

" _No!"_ Steve shook his head frantically. He looked at us like we were crazy. "I mean, it'll be dangerous, you don't know what you're getting involved in."

"Don't we?" Yori challenged. "Of the two of us, which one has spent time in HYDRA's captivity, _Captain America?_ " she countered. "Which one of us has the most right to tear them apart?"

Steve closed his eyes. He stretched out his hands to us pleadingly. "Look, I get wanting to help with the war effort, I do. But it's too dangerous, you're both-"

Yori's eyes narrowed. "You seem to be under the impression that I've never fought for my life before. When you look like I do, you get used to fighting. I know what I'm doing, and on top of that, I have more combat experience than you do, and they're letting you lead."

I placed a hand on Yori's arm calmingly. If she kept going we'd have no chance of talking Steve into this, and he was going to be our biggest supporter in getting the other men to agree to let us on the team.

"You were about to say we were both women, weren't you?" I asked Steve gently. He flushed guiltily.

"I didn't mean-"

"Yes, you did," I said bluntly. "Steve, if we were men coming to you with our abilities and asking you to let us help, would you hesitate even for a second?"

Steve looked like he would have dearly loved to say that yes, he would have told us to take a hike, but he was honest to the core. "Maybe a second," he admitted grudgingly.

"You understand what it's like to want to help with the war," I reminded him. "People told you that you couldn't because you are small and sickly. People tell us that we can't because we are women. But look at what you can do because you didn't let people tell you no. Can you do the same to us?" I asked him earnestly.

I knew I was being manipulative, bringing up Steve's own experience with rejection. But it was a similar situation. People saw our appearance and assumed we couldn't do anything. Steve had proved them wrong with his determination and his will to succeed. Yori and I could prove them wrong with our abilities.

"How about this," I offered. "We meet with the other men you want for the team. If even _one_ of them is against it, we won't say another word about it."

Yori looked at me sideways. "Speak for yourself," she scowled.

"No," I interjected firmly. "You'll _drop it_ Yori."

"The hell I will!" Yori snapped back. "Do you have any idea what they did to me Josie? _Do you?_ Because I deserve to tear them apart. I _deserve_ some kind of justice."

Yori's eyes were wide and desperate, a look I'd never seen in them before. When we'd first arrived Yori had been drugged and groggy, but aside from that she'd seemed okay. Then again, Yori was also a fast healer. There was no telling what had been done to her physically. The scars may have faded from her body, but they were clearly still raw in her mind.

Steve shook his head. "No," he interjected. "If you're going to do this, you can't do it for vengeance," he lectured Yori. "Do this because it's the _right_ thing to do. Do this because you want to protect other people from what HYDRA did to you."

Yori stared Steve down, waiting for him to blink, but Steve didn't flinch, not even when her hand clenched into an annoyed fist and began to glow gently. I sat and waited for one of them to break. Somehow, I was sure it wouldn't be Steve.

Yori looked away and her fist relaxed. "I can't promise I will be entirely selfless," she murmured. "But I can promise that I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else. That's all I can offer you."

Steve nodded, smiling kindly at her. "That's enough for now."

"Does this mean you'll let us join you?"

"If the others agree," Steve stressed. "You're right, I know what it's like to be told you can't do something because people take you at face value. I didn't listen to those people, so I can't stop you from trying to do the same. But you'll have a tough sell," he warned me. "I'm going to ask Bucky to join me, and you know he won't want you anywhere near combat."

I sighed. "I know. That's why he's my next stop."


	23. Conversations

Chapter 23: Conversations

It was a short walk from the SSR base to the apartments where the others were staying. I managed it in under fifteen minutes which, unfortunately, didn't leave me much time to come up with a logical, convincing, tightly woven argument. Before I was ready I found myself staring at the door to Bucky's room, my hand raised to knock.

I tapped twice and heard Bucky call, "Just a second!" I heard shifting and then Bucky opened the door. "Hey Steve, I – Josie." He grinned when he saw me. "Sorry, I figured you were Steve."

"Ah… I'm not," I said weakly.

Bucky was not, in fact, wearing a shirt.

I was not prepared for that.

Certainly I'd seen shirtless guys before. I came from a small, rural town – shirtless farm boys were a weekly occurrence. I'd even drooled over their large shoulders and defined arms on more than one occasion, along with all the other girls in town. However, none of them had ever made my tongue tie itself in knots.

Bucky wasn't as bulky as the men I was used to seeing. That wasn't surprising, he was a city boy after all. But basic had done real wonders for his physique and even though he was still a little skinny from his time in HYDRA, the back-breaking work they'd subjected him to kept him in shape. He wasn't so much bulky as he was lithe, lean muscle coiled under smooth skin.

I tugged my eyes away from his chest and met his gaze. He was smirking slightly, blue eyes glittering with amusement. I'd been caught, which wasn't surprising. I wasn't exactly being subtle. Bucky leaned against the door frame on one arm.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked huskily.

"I, uh, yes," I floundered, mentally smacking my feline side that was purring in pleasure at the sight and sound of him. "I had something I wanted to discuss with you."

"Sounds serious," Bucky said wryly, moving away from the door and gesturing for me to enter. He shut the door behind me and beckoned me over to a small, round table with two chairs, not unlike the one Yori and I had occupied in Steve's room. The remains of a lunch were still sitting there.

Bucky snatched a shirt off the end of his bed and tugged it over his shoulders, buttoning it up. He left a couple buttons at the top undone, allowing a peek at his collarbones. Again, I had to bite back a purr.

I seated myself at his table, forcing myself to look out the window until I heard him sit down across from me.

"What's this about?" Bucky asked, leaning one forearm on the table. I looked away from the window and back at him.

"Steve's team," I began. Bucky nodded.

"Yeah, he's asked me and a couple of the other guys from the factory to join him at a bar down the road tonight to talk. What about it?" Bucky asked, that perpetual lazy grin of his tugging at his mouth.

I took a deep breath and braced for the explosion. "Yori and I want to join you."

The grin dropped so fast it was like a switch had been flipped. "You can't be serious," Bucky said, his eyes practically begging me to burst out laughing and say it was a joke. I didn't. I just stayed quiet, my hands folded in my lap, and looked at him. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration when he realized I was serious.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Bucky demanded. "Belle, I know you were there at the factory, but that wasn't… that was just a _taste_ of what combat is like. It's ugly, it's messy, it's dangerous… Why would you even _want_ to put yourself through that?"

"For the same reason you do," I replied earnestly. "To serve my country."

Bucky shook his head, reaching out and placing one of his hands over my knotted fingers. "Then stay in the lab with Howard and help him with his projects."

I smiled faintly. "Bucky, I'm not an engineer. I don't know the first thing about weapons or inventing. I'm a chemist, a geneticist." I shook my head. "The team working on recreating Erskine's serum won't let me anywhere near the project. The _only_ reason I'm still here is because Howard took pity on me and hired me as something like his assistant. That, and he likes having a drinking buddy who comes with their own liquor," I admitted with a smile. "Without him fighting to keep me here, I'd be back in the States slogging my way through job applications for dozens of labs that will take one look at my name and toss my resume in the trash because I'm a girl. I'm sitting on my hands here," I said earnestly. "I need to _do something_ , I need to _help_ , and I _can_ do this," I insisted. "Yori and I, we _can_ take care of ourselves."

Bucky sighed, his head dropping. "But you shouldn't have to." He shook his head. "Josie, I don't like thinking about you running into a firefight. What if you got shot?"

"I'd heal," I said with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like that hasn't already happened."

Bucky's head snapped up, his eyes wide. _"What?"_

I blinked. I'd assumed he'd heard all about the drama after the experiment from Steve. Then I cursed myself. No, Steve would have left that part out, because he wouldn't have wanted to worry Bucky. "I… I thought you knew," I said quietly. Bucky shook his head frantically, his grip on my hands tightening. He swallowed thickly, his eyes roving all over me like he was looking for a sign of the injury.

"I'm _fine_ ," I told him earnestly, pulling one hand out from under his and placing it on top, squeezing. "I was fine within seconds. It was after the serum, when Erskine was shot. I tried to knock him out of the way and I took one in the shoulder," I said, nodding to the shoulder that had been hurt.

Bucky's hands tightened almost painfully. He gritted his teeth. "I don't like thinking about you getting hurt," he grunted, staring at my face. "It makes my stomach knot up."

I shook my head. "I'll ask you the same question I asked Steve when Yori and I approached him-"

Bucky looked vaguely hurt. "You talked to Steve about this first?"

"He is the team leader," I reminded him gently. "But putting aside my gender, putting aside… whatever relationship we have…" I felt a little presumptuous bringing that last bit up. "If I was some random person who walked up with my abilities and wanted to help… would you hesitate to say yes?"

Bucky closed his eyes and a muscle in his jaw tightened. I knew I had him. "No," he admitted grudgingly. "But Josie," he shook his head. "I _can't_ just put those things aside. You're asking me to make an objective decision and I _can't."_

I knew I was going to have to do something drastic. Bucky was so focused on the idea of me getting hurt that he couldn't think about the fact that even if I _was_ hurt it wouldn't slow me down for more than a few minutes. I needed to remind him of that.

I tugged my hand out from under his and grabbed the knife from his lunch. Bucky's eyes widened.

"Belle, what are you- _don't!_ "

I placed my left hand flat on the table and raised the knife in my right. I slammed it down. The knife was dull, but I had enough strength to shove it all the way through my hand and into the table beneath. I bit back a hiss of pain – just because it would _heal_ didn't mean it didn't _hurt_ – and tugged the knife free.

" _Shit,_ Josie," Bucky cursed, standing up so quickly he knocked his chair over with a clatter. He cradled my bleeding hand in his own. "You're crazy, you're _crazy_ , we need a bandage, we need-"

I laid my uninjured hand on his arm comfortingly. "Bucky," I said gently. "Look."

I pulled my injured hand free and brought it to my mouth, licking away the blood with a few quick, cat-like flicks of my tongue until you could see the wound clearly. I offered Bucky my palm again. His eyes widened as he watched the muscle knit itself back together, then the skin.

This time I held his hands between mine. "Nothing can hurt me," I said, staring him intensely in the eyes.

"I think you gave me a heart attack," Bucky said shakily. " _Please,_ Belle," he begged. "Don't _ever_ do that again."

I smiled. I was Belle again. He was starting to relent. "I'll try to contain myself," I chuckled. I looked up at him. "I'll make you the same deal I've made Steve and Howard. If any of the other men on the team have a problem with Yori and I being there, even one, then we'll back out. Is that acceptable?" I asked earnestly.

For a moment Bucky just stared at me, like he was reading my desperation from every feature. He sighed, reaching back to set his chair upright. He sat down again.

"I suppose that's not a bad deal," he allowed. "You know you're probably going to have a fight to get them to accept you, right?"

I nodded and smiled. "I know. That's why Yori and I have a plan to convince them."

"And what that?" Bucky asked. "I assume you're going to tell them about what you can do."

I nodded. "But more than that we're going to _show_ them." I smirked slightly. "You've never _really_ seen me fight before, Bucky."

* * *

Yori was remaining at the base for the evening while I went to meet with the men. While people who had just been rescued from a factory might not question a woman in an oni mask, the general public definitely would. So I'd prettied myself up, donned a light grey-blue dress with a small black bow at the collar, and headed out.

When I entered, Bucky was lingering by the bar with a scotch. He was midsip when I walked in, and I smiled when he sputtered slightly, flattered.

"Josie," he greeted as I stepped over to him. He offered me a hand. I took it and he spun me, a crooked grin on his face as my skirt flared slightly.

"You look even prettier than usual," he said, pulling my hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. I smiled, my cheeks going pink.

"Thanks. You're looking much better yourself," I said, referring to how much he'd improved since we busted him out. Bucky's grin leaned a little more towards a smirk.

"Well, regular baths and meals will do wonders for a guy." He nodded knowingly towards a table in the next room. I could see Steve's gleaming blonde hair and broad shoulders sitting at one crowded table with a group of men. I recognized some of them from the factory – the one in the bowler hat, the Asian man, the Brit.

"All of them," Bucky reminded me sternly. I nodded, smiling.

"I know, I remember."

Bucky grinned and gently pulled my hand in the direction of the table. "Go ahead, you're going to be late for your meeting, Miss Ealum."

I was still grinning and blushing slightly when I approached Steve's table. I snagged a chair from an empty table and dragged it over, squeezing into the group on Steve's right.

"I remember you," said the Brit, his eyes widening slightly. "You're the woman who was at the factory."

I nodded. "I am. Josie Ealum, it's wonderful to see you all again."

"And under much better circumstances," the black man replied, lifting his glass.

"Hear hear!" chorused the men as they each tossed back gulps of whatever they were drinking. They went around the table, introducing themselves to me. I shook hands and turned down the offer to buy me a drink from a couple of them. I didn't need to be drinking if everything went according to plan.

"Where's your friend in the monster mask?" asked Dugan, wiping froth off of his moustache with the back of his hand.

"Yori's still back at base. She doesn't really like crowds," I replied delicately.

"Clearly," Falsworth said drily.

"Has Steve made you his offer yet?" I asked, looking sideways at the blonde. He nodded.

"Yeah, he has," replied Falsworth. Dugan took another swig of his beer and set the mug down heavily.

"So let me make sure I've got this straight. We barely got out of there alive-"

"-and you want us to go back?" Jones finished for him.

Steve shrugged. "Pretty much."

Falsworth grinned cheekily. "Sounds rather… fun actually."

Morita let out a loud belch. "I'm in," he said bluntly.

Dernier let out a rapid stream of French, smacking his hand down on the table for emphasis. Jones replied in equally rapid French, grins covering both of their faces. The pair of them shook hands and laughed. Those at the table who didn't understand French looked at them quizzically. Jones gestured between himself and Dernier.

"We're in," he explained.

Everyone turned to look at Dugan, who was the only one who hadn't given an answer yet.

"Hell I'll always fight," Dugan said over the top of his mug. "But you've gotta do one thing for me."

"What's that?" Steve asked.

Dugan drained the last of his mug and slapped it back down on the table. "Open a tab," he grinned.

Steve chuckled along with the rest of us. "I think I can do that," he said, gathering up the empty mugs from the table and rising. "I guess I'll turn the floor over to Josie while I handle that," he said, moving towards the bar.

I shifted slightly as all eyes fixed on me curiously. I quickly scolded myself. I had to be confident, any uncertainty could blow up in my face.

"You have something you want to talk to us about?" Dugan asked, looking a little surprised.

"Yes," I nodded sharply. "My 'friend in the monster mask,' her name is Yori Tsukuda. She and I, we've both had combat training. And we want to join your team."

Expressions around the table ranged from incredulous to disbelieving to confused.

"So you and your friend want to walk into an active war zone?" Falsworth repeated skeptically.

"As I said, we both have had training. We know how to fight," I repeated. "We can take care of ourselves."

Dugan was obviously uncertain about the idea. "I dunno ma'am. I know you came with the Captain to rescue us, but how much action did you actually see?"

"Quite a bit," I replied coolly.

"Why would you even _want_ to?" Morita asked incredulously. I shrugged.

"The same reason you all want to. To defend our country. Yori in particular, she was held captive by HYDRA and experimented on. She wants payback."

"You're some kind of scientist though," Jones recalled. "A scientist and some girl in a mask?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "As I said, we can handle ourselves. And we're perfectly willing to prove it. As soon as you gentlemen are finished here, come to the gym at the base. Yori and I are ready to spar and show exactly what we can do."

Falsworth winced. "I'm not entirely sure how I feel about watching a couple of ladies hit each other."

"It wouldn't be the first time we've gone at it," I admitted ruefully.

"Steve's okay with this?" Dugan confirmed, nodding to Steve, who'd stepped into the next room and was talking to Bucky at the bar.

I nodded. "He's made a deal – if even one of you gentlemen isn't comfortable with having Yori and I on your team after you've seen what we can do, then we'll put it aside and stay out of it. There's…" I hesitated. "There's one more thing you should know."

"What's that?" Jones asked.

"You're all familiar with Steve and his serum, correct?" I confirmed. They all nodded, clearly wondering where I was going with this.

"You telling us you and your friend took a dose?" Dugan asked drily. I shook my head, smiling slightly.

"No, we didn't. But that doesn't change the fact that we could both go toe to toe with Steve if we had to. For… other reasons."

I glanced around the table. I'd piqued their interest, that was for sure. That was my main goal here tonight, to get them curious enough to let Yori and I fight for them. I was hoping that after seeing that – and hearing the accompanying explanation for why I sprouted bones and Yori had a tail – they'd be open to having people like us on the team.

Once again, I was opening myself up for rejection because of my mutation, but this time I wasn't as afraid. I was sure that any men Steve had picked would be good men. And now that I had so many normal people who had accepted me I was coming to terms with the fact that while yes, rejection was a possibility, it was worth it to have people in my life.

Falsworth looked at the others around the table and shrugged. "I mean, if they're willing…"

Jones looked at me. "I want to know how come you think you can take tall, blonde, and pretty?" he said, nodding to Steve.

A round of chuckles circled the table at the nickname. I laughed lightly. "That's probably better to wait until after Yori and I have showed off," I explained. "But I will explain, don't worry."

"Well, clearly you've got more backbone than most dames, coming into the factory like you did," Dugan admitted, looking me over. "And now that I've got this great mental image of you throwing the Captain around like a ragdoll, I'd like to see you in action."

I smiled. "I can't promise any Steve-throwing, but I can promise that it will be quite the show."

"Then I'd say we can give you a shot," Morita said carelessly, tapping the table loudly to get the bartenders attention and raising a finger for another drink. "When do you want us there?"

"Finish your drinks, enjoy your night," I insisted. "But when you're done, come to the gym. I need to go and get ready. It'll be very hard to kick in this," I said, standing and smoothing down my skirt pointedly. The men waved and called their goodbyes as I turned to head for the door.

Bucky and Steve saw me coming and stopped talking.

"How'd they take it?" Steve asked as I approached, nodding to the table behind me where they had taken up a rousing chorus of 'There is a Tavern in the Town.'

"Well I think right now they're more concerned about their drinks," I admitted, watching them in amusement. "But I think I've got them intrigued at least. They've agreed to come see us fight."

"I'm still not sure how I feel about this," Bucky admitted sheepishly, ruffling his hair. "I don't picture your friend pulling her punches."

I shook my head. "Oh, she won't," I said certainly. "Yori always aims to hurt in a fight, even if it's practice."

Bucky blinked at me. "You're not filling me with confidence here, Belle," he pointed out.

I shook my head. "I know, and I'm sorry. But I heal quickly and Yori's durable, so it usually doesn't matter."

"At this point even I'm a little curious to see what you two can do," Steve said, leaning back against the bar.

At that moment the singing stopped. We all turned to look and see what had caused the disturbance. It was Peggy Carter, standing there with her hair curled and wearing a gorgeous red dress and heels. I grinned at her and slid my eyes from her to Steve's puppy-dog expression.

"Captain," Peggy greeted politely.

"Agent Carter."

Peggy approached us, her eyes never leaving Steve. I nudged Bucky and nodded to the pair of them. We shared grins, both of us assured that we wouldn't get caught. Steve and Peggy were too focused on each other to pay us much attention.

"They're adorable," I muttered, resisting the urge to squeal girlishly.

"Don't let either of them hear you say it," Bucky chided, draping an arm around my shoulder casually and tugging me closer to his side. I tilted my head towards his hand, inhaling deeply. I felt Bucky begin to shake with chuckles and looked up at him like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Sorry?" I said half-heartedly, even though I really didn't regret it despite the fact that my cheeks were burning.

Bucky just shook his head and grinned and we both turned back to Steve and Peggy.

"Howard has some equipment for you to try," Peggy was saying. "Tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good," Steve replied quietly. There was a moment of awkward silence as Steve glanced nervously at the floor. Bucky and I both exchanged knowing looks as Peggy cast around for a new topic.

The singing started again and Peggy glanced into the other room, smiling slightly. "I see your top squad is preparing for action," she said drily.

"You don't like music?" Bucky countered.

"I do, actually," Peggy said, looking up at Steve warmly. "I might even, when this is all over, go dancing."

"What are you waiting for?" I asked Peggy leadingly, nodding to the room full of singing men. "I'm sure you'd have takers."

Peggy's eyes never even wavered from Steve's face. "The right partner," she said meaningfully. "Oh eight-hundred," she added to Steve, before turning to leave.

"Yes ma'am, I'll be there," Steve called after her. Bucky stared at Steve pointedly.

"Now I know how you felt all those times," he grinned cheekily. Steve turned around to face the bar, leaning on it with one arm.

"Yeah, but you're still the one with your arm around a pretty girl," he reminded Bucky, nodding at me. I flushed.

"Can't argue with that." Bucky grinned at me.

"Well, I hate to talk and run gentlemen," I said. "But I have a fight to prepare for. You're both coming?" I asked sternly.

"Wouldn't miss it," Bucky promised, pulling me closer to plant a kiss on my head fondly before letting me go.

When I walked out of the bar I was smiling like a ditz.


	24. Fight

Chapter 24: Fight

Yori and I had both traded our normal clothes for button-downs and slacks. Yori's clothes had been modified with slits to allow her tail and wings to move freely. Her hat was missing, her red-streaked hair exposed from the back, but her mask and coat were still very firmly in place. It made her look a little ridiculous as she dropped into splits on the floor and leaned forwards to press her forehead to her knee.

"So they all agreed to come?" she confirmed as she straightened up and leaned backwards, her rear foot coming up to brush her toes against the top of her head.

"They're at least curious," I explained, spreading my legs and dropping into a side split next to her. I leaned forwards to press my forehead to the ground and admitted to the floor, "I may or may not have mentioned that we could both probably take Steve in a fight."

"Which may or may not be true, I'm still not clear on what your super soldier can do," Yori scoffed.

"I base that on the fact that I don't think Steve could bring himself to hit a woman," I chuckled, straightening up and leaning to the side.

"Boy scout," Yori scoffed, standing up. She offered me a hand and dragged me to my feet as well. Her head tilted to the side, towards the door to the gym. I listened and heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Here they come," I said, nodding at her coat. "You sure you don't want to be ready when they get here?" Yori shook her head. "You're very melodramatic, you know that, right?" Yori's response was to lash her whip in my general direction. I leaned sideways, avoiding it lazily.

"Save it until the spar," I cautioned as the door opened. Steve's team all filed in looking a little drunker than when last I saw them. They were all upright though and there was only minimal stumbling and slurring, so I took that to mean that they weren't completely trashed. Even if they were, I didn't doubt that Yori's dramatic reveal would sober them up at least a little.

"We're here!" Dugan announced grandly.

"I can see that," I said drily. I gestured to Yori. "This is my friend, Yori Tsukuda. And she's not from Fresno," I admitted, recalling Dugan's reaction when Morita started to escape with them.

"I think we can forgive that if you can really do what we've been told you can," Falsworth said, eyes combing over Yori curiously.

"I'm not going to trust someone who won't show their face," Dugan said firmly, nodding to Yori's mask.

I could practically hear the smirk in her voice as Yori said, "That can be fixed."

With a shrug of her shoulders her coat slid free, her wings spreading and her tail flicking up into view. She dragged off her mask, revealing her marked face and permanently red-colored lips. With a toss of her head, she made sure they didn't miss the streaks in her hair and at the same time revealed her pointed ears.

I counted two 'holy shit's, one 'what the hell', a garbled shout of surprise, and one cry of _merde_ that undoubtedly came from Dernier.

"Was that strictly necessary?" I asked Yori, exasperated.

Yori shrugged innocently, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I don't want to fight beside men who can't handle a little shock."

Morita was the first person who got over his shock. "I'm pretty sure you're what my mom said would eat me if I didn't eat my vegetables." Yori looked nonplussed and I had to hide a smile at that one.

"Damn," Dugan breathed.

"HYDRA really did a number on you, didn't they?" Jones said, eyeing Yori sympathetically. They all blinked when Yori threw back her head and laughed.

"No, I was like this before they got their hands on me. I was born like this. A human mutant, just like Josie."

All eyes flicked to me, and I noticed Morita trying to subtly get a look at my rear and check for a tail. I held up my hands placatingly.

"Sorry, my mutation isn't quite as obvious as Yori's. It's best we just show you what we can do. Steve?" I asked, nodding to the ring.

"Go ahead," Steve encouraged.

"You knew about the…" Unable to quite make himself say the word, Jones flapped his hands at his sides. Steve chuckled.

"Yeah, I've known since a little after we got back from the factory. Yori kind of gave herself away when we came across Schmidt."

"What'd you do?" Falsworth asked, looking at Yori sideways. She inclined her head.

"Why don't I show you?" She spread her wings and the men flinched back. Yori was a small woman, but her wings still had to be large to keep her body in the air. With two powerful sweeps she was in the air and gliding over the ropes into the ring. She landed lightly and folded her wings. Yori turned to face me and thrust out a hand.

"Coming?" she asked, eyes sparking with challenge. Yori didn't really fit into the feral category of mutants, but she was most definitely more in touch with her instinctive side than the average human. I felt the thrill of a fight starting to creep up on me as well and I was transported back to those long afternoons we spent in the ballroom of the Ealum plantation house, trading punches and kicks for hours on end.

"Of course," I purred, and approached the ring. I crouched and leaped the four feet onto the platform and grabbed the ropes to stabilize myself. I slid between them and moved to stand opposite Yori.

"Do we bow, or shall we just go?"

"Just what?" Yori replied saccharinely. I smirked. This had been a favorite ploy of hers back when she first started teaching me. I remembered falling for it a couple times before I caught on to what she was doing. But it was appropriate for this, I supposed.

"Go," I said, dropping into a crouch.

Yori spun and her tail lashed out at me. I grabbed it just under the spaded end and jerked. Yori's eyes flashed indignantly – she _hated_ when people pulled her tail – and she staggered closer to me, pulled slightly off balance. Yori was a pro though, she quickly got her feet back under her and used the momentum of the pull to add to a devastating punch aimed at my jaw.

I ducked under her punch and spun, swinging my leg around towards her side. Yori grabbed my leg and pinned it to her side with her arm, her hand flashing forwards faster than humanly possible as she punched me twice in rapid succession before swinging me around by my leg. I went skidding across the ground.

Quickly, I forced bones from my fingers and stabbed them into the ground, stopping my wild slide and using it to spin myself around into a crouch, my right leg extended at my side. I pushed off the ground and lunged at Yori. She spun, wings and tail flying in a protective battering shield around her. I reared back – I knew from experience how much it stung to get smacked by one of Yori's wings.

She slammed her foot down, stopping her spin, and used the motion to swing her whip around as it unfurled form her fingers. The bright, crackling green light illuminated the room as she lashed it at me. I jumped back, dancing out of the way as she snapped it twice at my legs. Dimly I heard the men shout in surprise, but I was focused on the fight.

My blood was pounding in my ears and my heart was racing as adrenaline flooded my veins. I growled low in my throat as Yori smirked at me, lashing her whip at me again. I ducked under it and moved within arm's reach, forcing her to abandon her whip.

Yori and I traded a flurry of punches and kicks. Yori's style of fighting incorporated bits and pieces of various martial arts plus the brutal, instinctive moves of street fighting. She was no joke in a fist-to-fist fight and she'd taught me everything she knew. When I first started learning from her I spent more time picking myself off the ground than I did fighting. Now I could go toe-to-toe with her on equal footing.

We both made calculated risks. I traded a knee in the side for a chance to punch Yori in the jaw. She dodged and allowed the side of my fist to connect with her for the sake of landing a punch in my stomach. Neither of us recoiled from the hits we took.

Like I'd told Steve, I healed fast and Yori was durable. Her kick to the side audibly cracked a rib but it healed almost instantly. My punch to her chin would have sent a normal man staggering, but it just snapped her head back a little.

I connected a fist with Yori's cheek. She took the hit and spun with it, kicking me brutally in the side and sending me staggering again. She kept me at arm's length by summoning her whip again and spinning in a circle. Now the blur of black was punctuated by rings of glowing green. I backed away warily.

Getting hit with that whip was like getting hit by a burning, electrified knife. It cut deeply and the wound burned. The feeling in the surrounding skin was deadened. I'd taken hits from it before and they were always slower to heal than normal cuts, so I avoided the thing instead of taking a hit whenever I could.

Yori stopped spinning but lashed her whip at me to keep me back where I was. Her eyes were narrowed.

"You're pulling your punches," she said furiously. My eyes widened. "Do you think I'm still weak from my time as a prisoner? Do you think I haven't recovered?"

Yori lunged, sped along by a strong flap of her wings, and buried a foot in my stomach with more force than any hit we'd exchanged yet. Something cracked loudly and blood burst from my mouth as I went flying backward, sliding on my side across the ring.

"Stop the fight!" Falsworth shouted. "She's hurt."

"I'm fine," I growled at him, wiping the blood from my mouth and pushing myself to my feet. I glared at Yori. "I _know_ you're not still hurt."

"Then _why_ ," Yori demanded, coming at me again in a flurry of punches, "are… you… holding… back?!"

Each word was punctuated with a punch. I leaned around or blocked all of them. Yori finished with a kick to my stomach that doubled me over. Her hands landed on my shoulder, gripping tightly and forcing me to stay in that position as her knee connected with my side five times in rapid succession. Several loud cracks came out of my ribs. I winced as she shoved me and sent me staggering back, but again my ribs were healed almost instantly. My command over my bones meant that they healed faster than anything else.

I gave myself away with a glance to the side. The men were watching on tender hooks, their eyes wide and their mouths slack. Even Steve was looking worried, his hand resting on his side in commiseration. Bucky was wincing, his eyes fixed on me.

"It's because they're here?" Yori demanded incredulously. "They're going to find out, you're going to tell them! So why the _hell_ are you still hiding?"

"I'm not!" I snarled, and swung at her. I swung wildly, without a plan. Yori caught my upper arm easily and guided me around her, planting her foot on my rear and shoving just to add insult to injury. I growled as I turned to face her.

"You are!" she snarled. "Are you still afraid of rejection? You've told your secrets, it's all out there. I thought you were supposed to be dangerous; are you just a mouse? Show them who you are, _Tigress!"_ Yori hissed venomously, cracking her whip across my face. I went spinning and ate floor, my head landing to face the men.

I saw surprise, shock, a little unease written on their faces. But none of them looked disgusted. None of them looked angry. None of them looked like they were headed for the pitchforks and torches. They looked concerned for me. They looked like they cared what happened to me. They looked a little discomfited, but that was probably because of what Yori was saying.

"Fine, if you're going to lie there like a rug, I'll treat you like one!"

Yori leaped, her foot angled to come down in a kick that would undoubtedly break my spine, and even I'd need a second to recover from that one.

I kicked at the ground and sent myself sliding for the ropes. I grabbed onto them and kicked again, using the momentum to flip around the ropes and back onto my feet inside the ring. I landed in a crouch and straightened up, tilting my head to the side.

Yori smiled. She recognized the gesture.

"Finally!" she shouted joyfully, tail twitching. "Now it's a fight!"

My shoulder spasmed and there was a loud crack. Blood bloomed on my shoulder just before the rounded end of my humerus tore through my shirt. I gripped it tightly and pulled it free, revealing the sharpened blade that the rest of the bone had turned into.

Yori looked at the blade wistfully. "I miss my sword," she said longingly, and lunged at me. I swiped at her with the blade and she danced back, aiming a kick for my stomach. This time I grabbed her leg and swung her around, letting fly. She connected with the ropes and hung for a moment. I threw the blade after her. Yori gave a small yelp and dropped. The blade flew over her head and embedded itself in the wall behind her.

"It's going to take more than a couple of knives to beat me," Yori pointed out as she came at me again, her wings poised to buffet me with wind. Sharpened ribs burst from my chest. Yori froze where she was to keep from getting the sensitive membranes shredded and quickly tucked them back behind her.

"Fine, be that way," she said, and lunged at me. I grabbed her, letting her fist skate past my cheek, and rolled her, trapping her on the ground between my legs. I raised a hand over her face, ready to punch.

Yori's tail wrapped around my throat, tightening and dragging me backwards off of her. I scowled as I choked for air. I should have expected that one – Yori's favorite use for her tail was to choke opponents or stab with the tip.

Yori scrambled to her feet, standing over me as her tail continued to choke me. I let out a strangled roar and jerked my legs, knotting them around Yori's and dragging her down. Surprise made her tail loosen for just a second and I used that moment to rip the appendage away. I crawled on Yori's back and straddled her. She reared up, catching me in the nose with the back of her head. My eyes watered and Yori used the moment to slide free of me.

Blinking away tears I jumped at her wildly. Yori sidestepped and I went flying towards the men, whose eyes widened. I grabbed onto the ropes, swinging myself around. I perched, balancing on the ropes. Yori's head was turning towards me, but not fast enough. I roared as I surged off the rope and bore her to the ground under me. I grabbed her wings near where they joined her back and flexed my hands warningly.

Under me, Yori froze. She was very touchy about people getting their hands on her wings. She'd broken one once before and she still turned gray whenever she was asked how it felt. I got the feeling it hurt more than a normal bone. The surest way to end a spar was to manage to get behind Yori and into a position where you could grab one or both wings.

"I yield," Yori grumbled, knowing I'd caught her, even though I wouldn't really break one of her wings.

I sat back on my heels, pleased. Yori sat straight up, throwing me off of her roughly. I willingly fell onto my rear, laughing as Yori flipped over and gave me a dark look.

"You know I hate when you do that," she scolded.

"I know. That's why I do it," I said slowly.

Yori rolled her eyes at me and climbed to her feet. I rocked back onto my hands and flipped to my feet, straightening up. We both turned to face what was without a doubt the most shell-shocked and confused group of men I'd ever seen. I couldn't only imagine how we looked – both of us dotted with blood, our clothes ripped, hair a wreck.

Unsurprisingly, Dugan was the one who summarized what all of the men seemed to be feeling.

"What the _hell_ did we just watch?"

I chuckled, rubbing my ribs ruefully, and approached the edge of the ring. Yori soared over my head and landed near the knot of shell-shocked soldiers. I crouched and jumped, leaping over the ropes and landing in a crouch on the other side.

"What do you gentlemen know about mutation?"

* * *

Yori and I were resting in my room. Steve's men had asked us to step outside while they discussed the matter at hand. Yori and I had chuckled at that and I explained that standing outside wouldn't keep us from hearing what was said. We'd gone back to my room to get cleaned up, with Steve supposed to come by after a decision was reached and tell us if we'd be joining them or not.

"Do you think they'll let us?" I asked Yori, who was lying on my bed with her wings spread out around her. The tips brushed the ground.

"I have no idea," Yori admitted. "But I would hope they're not stupid enough to turn us away because of our gender."

I sighed. "Always comes down to that, doesn't it?" I asked ruefully. Yori scoffed.

"As if a pair of breasts keeps us from throwing a punch."

"Yori," I scolded her. She stared back at me unrepentantly, the spaded tip of her tail twitching like a cat's.

"No one's around to scold me for being vulgar, I'll thank you not to fill the role," she sniffed. Then she paused, a smile creeping across her face. "Ah, here comes our resident super soldier now."

I walked to the door and listened to the footsteps coming down the hall. Yori sat up and nodded at me to open it. I held up a hand and waited until Steve stopped on the other side. I yanked open the door and grinned as I caught him with a fist raised to knock and a startled expression on his face.

"Should have known you heard me coming," he said ruefully, shaking his head as he lowered his fist.

"Never mind that," Yori snapped, rising to her feet and joining me at the door. "Well?" she demanded.

"There were a couple who were hesitant," Steve explained. "Dernier and Falsworth took some convincing, but eventually they were all on board." He smiled at us warmly. "Welcome to the team."

I beamed delightedly and threw my arms around Steve. He jerked in surprise and I knew without even looking up that he'd gone beat red. Yori's snickering was kind of a clue too.


	25. Through Yori's Eyes

Chapter 25: Through Yori's Eyes

Steve walked down the hall, heading to Howard's lab. Peggy said he had some equipment to test out, and he was torn between being excited and being nervous. He knew from the project that Howard Stark was a certified genius. Of course, he also recalled the expo, where the flying car had crashed to the ground after barely ten seconds.

Peggy had faith in him, and that was a huge selling point for Steve. Then again, he knew that a lot of ladies approved whole-heartedly of anything their beaus did, no matter how good or bad it was. But Peggy had Josie backing her up, and Howard had flown him out to get Bucky…

Really, it could go either way.

He saw a familiar tail flick around the corner ahead of him – Steve had to stop for a minute and wonder what it said about his life that he not only knew a woman with a tail but could recognize it easily – and considered calling out to Yori, but decided against it. Yori was a member of his team, but she was also very much a loner. From what Steve understood, she'd been on her own for years. He didn't want to pressure her into being social.

Steve reached the corner and made a right, but froze immediately when he heard voices. Two soldiers were leaning against a slightly recessed doorway and Yori was straight-backed and frozen. To his surprise, she wasn't wearing her usual layers to hide her from stares.

"I'm sorry, but it's just not natural. We should just exterminate the vermin and be done with it."

"Imagine waking up in the morning and seeing that? Hah, it's no wonder she hasn't got a husband to stay home and cook for – I think I prefer the demon mask she wears."

"And that little scientist bitch she's always with, she's no better. Get rid of them and let us normal people go on about our lives."

Steve knew that Yori was fast, but he didn't think he'd realized _how_ fast until that moment. One moment she was standing frozen in the middle of the hall, the next she had moved, dragging both men out into the hallway. One had her tail wrapped around his throat and was being held against the wall by it and one foot. The other was pressed against the opposite wall with Yori's hands curled around his neck. He scrambled to pull her fingers free, but he wasn't as strong as she was.

"Exterminate the vermin?" Yori purred in his face. "Such a good idea, I agree. Let's start with you and your friend, shall we?" Hatred poured off of her and her grip tightened. The man's eyes bulged as he started to go blue.

Steve couldn't just stand by and let this happen. "Yori!" he shouted, and stalked down the hall. "What are you doing? Let them go!"

Yori's head twisted around to look at him over her shoulder. Red eyes narrowed at him and her lips pulled back in what might have been a snarl.

"Why should I?" she snapped. Stave held out his hands to her placatingly.

"I know, Yori, I heard what they said. You want to prove them right?" Steve shook his head. "They're just guys shooting their mouths off. They don't matter."

Yori's eyes narrowed further and more a moment he thought he was going to have to rip her off of the men. But then her nose wrinkled in a snarl and she released her hands. The man coughed and wheezed, sliding down the wall to crumple helplessly into a ball.

"And the other one," Steve chided sternly, nodding to the man still held in Yori's tail. She grunted in annoyance, but dropped her foot and uncurled her tail. Steve noticed that the pointed tip trailed across the man's cheek, opening a shallow cut that welled with blood.

"Oops," Yori said saccharinely. The man stared at her in horror, his hand clutching his bleeding cheek. Yori leaned forward and raised her hands in claws.

" _Boo!"_

The man jolted, grabbing his wheezing friend and high-tailing it down the hall. Yori watched them rush past Steve, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Miss Tsukuda," Stave began, only for Yori to scoff.

"Just call me Yori, Miss Tsukuda sounds strange. Tsukuda-san if you must."

"Yori then," Steve said agreeably. He didn't know what 'Tsukuda-san' meant so he decided to play it safe. "I can't have you doing that. Not only does it reflect poorly on the team but it reflects on me as well. I know it's hard to hear people saying things like that about you, but you _can't_ lash out every time it happens."

Yori chuckled, surprising him. "Captain," she said, shaking her head, "do you think what they said _hurt_ me? That I lashed out because my _feelings_ were bruised? I have heard so many worse things. I have had insults hurled at me from everyone I pass in the street, I have had mothers pull their children away from me, and I have had men chase me down with torches and pitchforks trying to kill me. Men like that, shooting their mouths off? They're like flies to me. I could swat them easily, but it's more effort than just ignoring their buzzing."

Steve was a little unnerved by Yori, and it was for reasons like this. The way she talked about her past, so dispassionate even as she talked about horrible things. Men had chased her down to kill her? Children had been pulled away from her? It was a miracle she was as normal as she was!

It was also how familiar she seemed with violence. She seemed completely comfortable with it, like it was just another tool in her tool belt. She wanted to fix a pipe, get a wrench; she wanted to shut someone up, she laid open their cheeks. He himself was trained and fully accepted that he would be going into battle hurting and killing men, but he didn't enjoy it. The way Yori had spoken to that man, it was like she was savoring the experience.

"If you were paying attention," Yori continued shortly, "you'd notice I only did anything after they said something about my protégée. I can handle anything they say to me, but Josie's skin isn't quite as thick as mine. She hadn't had a lifetime of insults hurled at her to build up her tolerance. If I teach them now not to talk that way, then there's much less chance they say the same things in front of her."

Steve was beginning to understand Yori and her motivations a little better. She had a lot of rage inside of her, and a lot of hurt. But she tried to channel it into something useful. She had taught Josie how to fight so that she could protect herself if she ever ended up in a situation like the one Yori described – people attacking her for her abilities.

One thing was still bothering him, though. "Why do you call Yori your protégée?" he asked, walking down the hall towards her. He still had to get to the lab and meet with Howard, after all. Yori fell in step beside him easily. Steve noticed with a little amusement than she had to take two steps for every one of his. He wondered if she would have seemed so tiny to him before the serum and realized she would have been shorter than him even then.

"Because she is," Yori said bluntly. "I taught her most of what she knows about fighting – she learned to box from her father, but other than that it was all me," she said smugly.

"I got that," Steve nodded. "But where did you learn all of this? You're barely older than she is, right?"

Yori doubled over laughing. "Barely… older… haha! She hasn't told you, has she?"

"By _she_ I assume you mean Josie," Steve guessed. "Told me what?"

Yori was still chuckling as she said, "I was born in 1833."

Steve tripped over his own feet, the first time he'd done that since just after the serum. He gaped down at the woman next to him. If he had to guess he could have said that she was around his age, maybe a year or two older – Josie had called her 'durable' after all. But to think that she was that old!

A quick bit of mental math later and Steve stammered, "Y-You're… 110?"

Yori smirked up at him and tossed her hair, winking coquettishly. Steve flushed. "I look good for my age, don't I?" she said proudly.

"I… uh… s-suppose so…"

Yori was still grinning a little as she explained, "I call Josie my protégée because she is. She's not the first person I've taught to defend themselves, either. Things get boring when you've lived as long as I have. Whenever I found a mutant, I stopped my travels and spent some time with them, helping and guiding them."

Steve was still staring at Yori, trying to grasp how much she'd lived through. The first world war was nothing to her, she could probably remember the Civil War. And she mentioned travelling – with her ability to fly, she didn't need to bother with planes or other means of transport and landforms weren't obstacles. She could have been _anywhere._

"Where's your favorite place?" Steve asked interestedly. "I mean, you must have seen a lot of amazing things."

"My favorite place…" Yori turned thoughtful, her shoulders loosening out of their usual tense set as she considered. A wistful smile covered her face as she said, "I don't know, really. I like so many different places for so many different reasons. Obviously, Japan holds a large part of my heart. I grew up in the mountains there. There's a swimming hole near Josie's home, and it's a beautiful place. The island of Mykonos in Greece is a personal favorite of mine…" She shook her head. "I can't decide."

"What about the people?" Steve pressed interestedly. Yori's face darkened.

"The people? Mostly homo sapiens, mostly unremarkable. A few kind souls who looked past what I was, but mostly they were afraid of me or hated me. People have very little draw for me," she finished. Her mouth twisted bitterly. "In fact… I think this might be the longest friendly conversation I've had with a person who wasn't a born mutant like me in… probably a decade."

Steve didn't know what to say to that. Instead he cleared his throat and asked, "So… where are you headed?"

"Stark said he had something for me," Yori replied with a shrug. "Well actually, he said he has something he wants to trade a blood sample for."

"I'm supposed to be meeting with Howard too," Steve said as they approached the lab and office area of the compound. "Shall we go in together?"

Yori smirked and planted her back firmly against the wall, crossing her arms and bracing a foot against the plaster. She nodded to the door, through which a dozen or so uniformed workers could be seen bustling around. "Go ahead. Like I said, people have very little draw for me."

Steve was hesitant to leave her there alone – it didn't seem very polite since they were going the same place – but like he'd noticed before, Yori was downright antisocial. If she didn't want to be in an open room with people bustling around, it seemed cruel to make her.

"Okay," Steve said, and entered the room.

* * *

Yori watched, eyes narrowed suspiciously as Steve approached a pretty blonde officer who was reading the paper. He asked for Stark and she replied that he was in with Phillips, barely glancing up from her paper. She did a double-take when she realized who was standing there, a predatory glint in her eyes.

Yori smirked at that. Like she'd said, she wasn't too fond of people and romance was definitely not in her future, but she'd have to be blind not to notice just how delicious Steve Rogers looked. Gleaming blonde hair, muscular, tall, with chiseled features and boyish blue eyes. She licked her lips. Yes, she noticed his looks alright.

But aside from his looks, she'd also noticed an almost _unbearable_ naïveté to him. He was like a little boy in a man's body. It was hard to believe that someone as… as _sweet_ and _innocent_ as him had been the one to break into the HYDRA facility and set her free. She tried to picture him wading into the mud and the blood she had in the past and somehow it didn't work. He was too good to be in a place like that.

She hated him for that, just a little. Standing near him and the _goodness_ that just oozed off of him made her feel like even more of a monster and a freak than she normally did. She remembered the familiar sensation of squeezing the life out of someone. She'd done it a hundred times before without flinching, but there in that hallway, with Steve looking at her, she hadn't been able to make herself do it. She felt disgusting for even _trying._

Yori watched from around the corner as the blonde advanced on Steve. She didn't bother trying to make out the words, just heard the purr in them as she slunk forward. Steve crossed his arms, visibly uncomfortable. He stiffened up, looking caught somewhere between terrified and awed as the blonde grabbed his tie and pulled him behind a file cabinet.

Yori watched, feeling like quite the voyeur as the blonde dragged Steve in for a kiss. Instinctively, Steve's hands moved to her waist although his jaw seemed frozen in disbelief. Her hands clenched an unclenched at her side. Didn't that woman see how uncomfortable he was? How innocent? She was ruining that by touching him that way. It made Yori angry. She couldn't remember being innocent, hadn't been around much innocence in her life – she wanted to protect it.

She wasn't the only one angry, either. Yori watched as Peggy stalked past the cabinet. She just happened to glance to the side. Her eyes landed on Steve and the blonde. Hurt flashed across her face for a moment before being replaced with anger and annoyance. She turned to face them fully, planting her hands on her hips _. So that's how it is…_

"Captain!" she barked out.

Steve face snapped up and away from the blonde so fast she might have just punched him in the face. His hand came up like he was shielding his mouth.

"Yeah?"

"We're ready for you, if you're not otherwise occupied," Peggy said, staring at the blonde woman coldly. "Yori?" she called over her shoulder, starting off without waiting for Steve to reply.

Yori stepped from the hallway and followed Peggy as Steve scrambled to catch up with them.

"Agent Carter, wait," he begged.

"Looks like finding a partner wasn't that hard after all," Peggy replied coolly.

"Peggy, that's not what you thought it was." Steve's case wasn't helped by the fact that he was stuffing his tie back into his jacket.

"I don't think anything, Captain, not one thing. You always wanted to be a soldier and now here you are… just like all the rest," she added bitterly. Yori watched Steve's face fall.

"Well, what about you and Stark?" he countered, stopping in his tracks. Yori paused as well, fading into the shadow of a filing cabinet. "How do I know you two haven't been… _fonduing?"_

Peggy turned to stare at him, her expression caught between exasperation and disbelief. "You still don't know a bloody thing about women," she said shortly, turning back around with a toss of her curls.

"You really are a bit helpless," Yori said, stepping out of the shadows. Steve looked at her and blushed, realizing he'd forgotten she was even there.

"Did you… see?" he asked uncertainly.

"Poor girl, you seem to be a terrible kisser," Yori said bluntly. Peggy had already vanished through the Restricted Access door, the MP guarding it waving her through. She moved to pass and Steve hurried to walk beside her. She glanced up and saw him licking his lips.

"Stop that," Yori said shortly. She spoke up for two reasons. One, if Peggy saw it really wouldn't help his case. Two, she had a six foot four attractive blonde next to her licking his lips. She only had so much self control and be damned if she was going to jump him like that blonde.

Yori smirked as they reached the door. The whole time they'd been walking she could hear Peggy ranting under her breath to Josie inside the lab about what she'd just seen and what an idiot Steve Rogers was. It was when she heard Stark comment that she knew Steve was well and truly busted.

"I need Captain Chiseled Cheeks for a moment," Howard said, sweeping past and dragging Steve off the moment they entered the room. Yori moved towards the corner where Josie sat at a desk, Peggy leaning against it with her arms crossed, chewing her cheeks.

"I take it you saw?" Peggy asked as Yori approached. She nodded, seeing no reason to lie.

Josie looked up from her notebook. "I'm sure there's an explanation," she said, grey eyes begging Yori to come up with one before Peggy exploded. Yori tilted her head thoughtfully and Josie outright pouted at her. Smirking slightly, Yori spoke.

"If it makes you feel any better, she ambushed him. He was helpless, and from what I could see, he wasn't kissing back."

"There you go!" Josie insisted. "See? Steve's an idiot when it comes to girls, we all know that!" She tossed Yori a thankful look. "Just let him figure out exactly what he did wrong and I'm sure he'll apologize."

Peggy's jaw tightened. "He accused me of _fonduing_ with Howard," she said tartly.

Josie looked at her blankly. "He… what? Peggy," she said slowly. "I'm pretty sure Steve doesn't know what fondue is."

Yori raised an eyebrow. "Coming around to that… would someone please explain it to me as well? I feel a bit lost and I don't like it."


	26. A Sword

Chapter 26: A Sword

Yori could hear Howard giving Steve a lecture on the exact meaning of fondue as Josie explained it to her. She heard Howard clap Steve on the shoulder and their voices get louder as they returned.

"Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend," he finished. Steve sounded confused.

"But I didn't think…"

"Nor should you pal. The moment you think you know what's going on in a woman's head is the moment your goose is well and truly cooked."

Yori's eyes flicked to Josie and she saw amusement glittering there. The two women exchanged glances. They'd both been eavesdropping.

"We'll just swing by Josie's desk and grab Yori."

Howard and Steve emerged from behind a filing cabinet. The moment Steve came into view, Peggy gave him a very pointed look and stalked off to the other side of the lab. Steve winced as she passed him, but was smart enough not to try and stop her.

"Go play with your new toys," Josie encouraged, waving her hands at Yori. Her eyes were sparkling encouragingly and she looked proud. "Just remember to come thank me – I had a lot of input on the design."

"Design of what?" Yori asked blankly, not quite sure what kind of _equipment_ she might need. She came with her own personal arsenal of ways to cause damage.

"You'll see," Howard said, beckoning her over as he guided Steve to a table. "At the moment, my work is making sure you and your team come back in one piece." He paused, laying his hand on a piece of what seemed to be an extremely thick, armored kind of fabric. "Carbon polymer, should withstand your average German bayonet. Then again," he admitted, "HYDRA's not going to attack you with a pocket knife."

Yori sneered. "You can't get close enough to me to use a bayonet."

"Oh I've been assured," Howard promised her. "Trust me, I've got something special for you. Just wait your turn, Stark Clause's got to come to Steve first." He patted the battered shield tossed casually on a table and glanced back at Steve. "I hear you're rather attached?"

"It's handier than you might think," Steve explained with a shrug.

Howard stepped behind another table covered in a white cloth. With a dramatic flick of his wrists, he ripped the sheet away. On the table were various shapes and styles of shields. Many had electrical gadgets fitted onto the front. They all looked clunky, overly-modern, and not very Steve.

"This one's fun," Howard said, tapping one. "It's been fitted with electrical relays that allow you to-"

"What about this one?" Steve asked, ignoring the table full of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and reaching for a round shield polished to a silver sheen.

"No, no, that's just a prototype!" Howard protested, but Steve ignored him.

"What's it made of?" he asked as he picked it up, eyes widening.

"Vibranium," Howard explained as Steve flipped the shield around, looking at it from all angles. "It's stronger than steel and a third the weight," he said as Steve fitted his arms through the straps. "It's completely vibration resistant."

Steve traced his fingers along the edge and asked, "How come it's not standard issue?"

"That's the rarest metal on earth," Howard said with a scoff. "What you're got there, that's all we have of it. Well, almost all," he relented.

The sound of clicking heels announced Peggy's return. Both men turned to look as she approached.

"If you're quite finished Stark, I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business," she said coolly.

Steve grinned at her hopefully, holding up the shield in front of his chest. "What do you think?" he asked cheerfully. Yori rolled her eyes. He really was an idiot around women.

Peggy sucked in her cheeks, picked up a pistol from a nearby table and raised it. Steve ducked behind his shield as Peggy cracked off four shots. The lab techs all looked up in fright as the shield gave off small, bell-like peals as the bullets connected. The smashed bullets fell to the ground at Steve's feet. When the assault stopped, Steve's wounded puppy-dog face emerged from behind the shield.

Peggy let out a satisfied sigh. "Yes, I think it works," she said simply, before turning and walking away. Both men watched her go, dumbfounded looks on their faces. Yori smirked as she watched Peggy strut away.

Weakly, Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I had some idea about the outfit…"

Howard took the paper. "Whatever you want, pal…" he agreed faintly.

"If you two are done," Yori said tartly, yanking them out of their stupor. They both turned to face her. "You said you had something for me."

"Oh." Howard blinked away the last of his daze and a grin split his face. "Oh yeah! Yeah, this is really great, wait until I show you. Had to outsource some of it because I don't know jack about Japanese swords…"

Yori's eyes widened in delight and she sucked in a breath. "You made me a sword?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, Josie said you'd be pleased," Howard said knowingly, gesturing for her to follow him over to a table where a long wooden box lay. Next to it were a couple of tall, thin bundles of straw wrapped in twine. Yori smiled at the sight of them – she got to play.

Steve drifted after them curiously, gathering around the table. Howard spun the box around to face Yori and flipped open the latch with a flourish. Then he lifted the lid. Yori gasped.

The sheath was gorgeous on its own, a smooth black and red lacquer. Gold-painted spikes pointed down from the mouth of the sheath, homage to the marks on her face and body. The guard was gold with a similar spiked pattern. The hilt was wrapped in a traditional criss-crossed pattern by alternating red and black ribbons. Wrapped around the sheath were two thick woven cords. One was red, one was black, and they had heavy golden beads tied above fringed ends.

Yori's hands were shaking as she reached out and lifted the katana free. Deftly, she tied the cords around her waist and slid the sheath through them and the belt she was wearing. She let the sword rest and gripped the hilt tightly, savoring the slight bite of the wrappings into her palm. Moving so fast she blurred, Yori pulled the blade out. It came loose with a hum that ran down her spine and made her shiver.

"Oh…" she breathed as she saw the blade. It gleamed with the same burnished silver color as Steve's shield. Her eyes didn't leave the blade as she asked, "Is this…?"

"Yep, that's the rest of it," Howard confirmed.

Yori's eyes combed over the blade. There was no fuller, but the hada was visible on the edge, a pattern of straight, unconnected lines. A horimono was etched into the blade just above the hilt. Yori held the sword up in front of her, staring at the blade. It was a simple, elegant pattern of a branch of cherry blossoms. She smiled.

This would be what Josie meant when she said she had design input. Josie would have been the one to make sure they stuck to red, black, and gold. She was also the only one who could know just how much Yori missed seeing the cherry blossoms bloom. Yori felt her heart swell and had to bite her lip to keep from crying. This was a sort of kindness she wasn't used to.

"May I?" she asked thickly as she stepped closer to the straw. Howard nodded eagerly.

"Please," he encouraged, stepping back. He wisely grabbed Steve's arm and pulled him back. They'd already had one woman let loose with a weapon in the lab that day, and he had a feeling they were about to go for two.

Yori slid the sword back into the sheath. She stood in front of the first straw bundle, bending her knees slightly. One hand gripped her sheath, the other the hilt. Steve and Howard watched as, with a cry, she pulled the sword free and made an upward slash. The cut was so smooth, the top of the cut straw didn't fall. Yori brought the sword back down and sliced again, and this time two pieces of straw went flying.

Yori turned into a spin and sliced the second straw piece in half before cutting it again as it flew. She advanced on the last straw bundle and slashed at it several times, sending thin cuts flying as she worked her way down until the straw was barely three feet tall.

"I'd forgotten how good you are with a sword."

They all turned to look as Josie approached, her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face. Yori flicked the blade and seemed to draw it across her arm before sheathing it. With three quick steps she approached Josie and threw her arms around the younger woman. Josie hugged her back with a chuckle.

"Thank you," Yori said earnestly, beyond thrilled with her knew blade. It was gorgeous, it was light, it was well-made, and it cut like a hot knife through butter. It was even better than the short sword that HYDRA had taken from her and done who knew what with.

"Hey, I just made it pretty," Josie said, pulling Yori away from her and turning her toward Howard. "He's the one that found someone to make it and got the metal."

Yori came towards Howard, who paled slightly and took a step back. Steve couldn't blame him. Yori was scary with a sword. She got this wild light in her eyes and her movements were so fast she blurred. He wasn't quite sure the physics of what went into half of the movements she'd done.

"You made me a sword," Yori said with a grin on her face. Neither man had ever seen her look so happy, and for good reason. It had been a good three decades since Yori was that happy.

"Er, yeah, you like it, right?" Howard asked uncertainly. "Like, you're not going to take my head off with it or anything?"

Yori smirked. "Not today." She bounded forward and kissed a startled Howard Stark smack on the mouth before pulling back and outright giggling. She turned to Steve, who took a large step back and raised his shield. He'd already gotten in trouble with Peggy for kissing one woman today, he wasn't going to add to that list.

"When are we going on a mission? Soon?" she asked him hopefully. She patted the sword. "I want to try this one something a little more… alive."

"Yori, you're being creepy, stop it," Josie chided. "Have you decided what you're going to name it?"

"Name it?" Howard said blankly, still looking a little thrown from the thank you kiss. Josie nodded.

"Her old sword was called Yōkai no Teki," Josie explained.

"And what does that mean?" Steve asked curiously. He knew a little bit of French from school but he had no idea about Japanese.

"Roughly, enemy of demons," Yori translated. "As for this one, I think… Kuroihana," she decided.

"And for those of us in the audience who don't speak Japanese," Howard requested, raising a hand.

Yori grinned. "Black Flower. You like it, _Tora_?" she asked curiously.

"I think it definitely fits," Josie approved. Yori turned and bowed deeply to Howard, who bowed back uncertainly.

"Arigatō, tensai," she said seriously. Howard straightened up.

"Uh, right back at you?"

Yori snickered and rolled her eyes at that before turning back to Steve. "Please let me know when we're going out for the first time, taichō." She turned to Josie and smiled. "I'm going to go practice. It's been entirely too long since I cut something into tiny pieces."

Josie rolled her eyes but stepped aside, clearing the way for Yori, who left eagerly. The three of them watched her go, a skip in her step as she ran off the practice with her new sword.

"You weren't kidding, she _really_ liked that sword," Howard said, running a hand through his hair and huffing. Josie laughed at that.

"Yeah, Yori's carried a sword since before I knew her. It's been strange seeing her without one, to be honest."

"Hey, what's that she said to me there at the end?" Howard asked curiously. "And what did she call you? Dora?"

Josie chuckled. _"Tora,"_ she corrected. "It means tiger. And she said thank you, genius."

Howard smiled smugly at that."Well, she's not wrong."

Steve moved over to Josie and asked uncertainly, "What did she call me?"

He had no idea how Yori felt about him, but he wasn't altogether sure that she liked him. Some of the things she'd said, particularly after the incident out by the filing cabinet, made him think that she didn't.

Josie smiled and reassured him. "You mean taichō?" Steve nodded. "Don't worry, it just means captain. She was being nice. Which is weird, for her," Josie admitted. "If anything I'd expect her to call you baka like she does most people."

"Which means?"

"Idiot."


	27. Mission

Chapter 27: Mission

Steve had finally given the okay for our first mission. The men had recovered from their ordeal at HYDRA and this was our first run together. Phillips had been furious to hear that Yori and I would be joining him, but even he wouldn't argue too much with Steve. Howard had assured him that he would be giving us the kind of gear we needed to come through this alive.

Yori and I had a curtained-off section of the changing room. I could hear the men cracking jokes and giving each other a hard time as they got changed into mission clothes and checked over their weapons. Steve, in particular, was getting quite a ribbing for his star-spangled costume. I didn't blame the men for that one. If I was out there, I probably wouldn't be able to resist teasing him either.

My 'uniform' consisted of a pair of brown cargo pants with patches on the knees stuffed into a pair of combat boots. The patches were for easy repairs – I tended to force bones out of my knees and this way repairs would be easier. That was the same reason my white collared shirt had a zipper on the front instead of buttons. Under it was a simple tube of fabric that covered my breasts and torso. I could unzip the shirt and shuck the sleeves and it would hang around my waist, leaving my arms and shoulders free. The fabric tube was easily replaceable as well, in case I forced out my ribs.

As far as weaponry, I didn't carry much. I didn't really _need_ to carry much, seeing as I could make my own knives and fire bones from my fingers almost like bullets. Howard had given me Browning A-5. Strapped to my right thigh was a standard M1911A1, the same sidearm Bucky and Steve carried.

Yori was dressed and ready as well. She wore combat boots and cargo pants just like me, only hers were sans patch and instead had a slit in the back for her tail. Her shirt was a regular button-front with slits in the back to make room for her wings. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, her mask firmly in place over her face. Her sword was tied to her left hip and on her right was a Type 94 Nambu pistol Howard had scrounged up for her.

"You ready?" Yori asked as she tightened her ponytail. I nodded back.

"Everyone decent out there?" I called out. I heard various calls of assent and pushed back the curtain. One the other side I would see Falsworth in his beret and Dugan in his bowler hat. Most of the men had semi-automatic rifles slung over their shoulders or leaning next to them. Dugan carried a shotgun like I did. Steve had only his shield and a pistol.

Almost instinctively, my eyes went to Bucky. He wore combat boots and dark pants, and somewhere he'd found a thick, dark-blue double breasted jacket. His ranking patch was sewn onto one shoulder. A brown leather utility belt was wrapped around his waist with a strap across his chest. His rifle was already slung over his shoulder.

I could see his eyes roaming over me just like I observed him, from my combat boots to my braid. I saw his eyes darken slightly at the sight of the firearms I carried, but they outright burned when he saw the zipper on the front of my shirt. My face flamed with heat as I guessed where his mind had gone. I couldn't blame him though.

"Do you have to wear that thing?" Dugan demanded of Yori, observing her mask.

"I always do," she replied, which wasn't really an answer.

"Yes, but it's not like we don't know what's under there," Falsworth pointed out. "Go on, take it off. It must be hot under that ghastly thing."

Yori reached up, touching the mask. I wondered how long it had been since she went into a real fight with her face showing. I saw her turn her face towards Steve.

"Taichō?" she asked simply. Steve shifted uncertainly.

"Well, it's up to you, Yori," he assured her. "It must restrict your vision though?"

And that was that. I knew that the mask did just that, and now that Steve had pointed it out, Yori would feel like she had to take it off. I wasn't surprised to see her moving a little slowly as she reached up and untied the ribbons holding the mask in place. She set it aside and looked around, uncertain, but her eyes were daring any of them to comment.

Morita walked over and clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you're still scary as hell," he promised her, and drew a startled laugh from her lips. We all picked up the laugh, amused.

"Ready?" Bucky asked, moving closer to me. He put one hand on my shoulder and used the other to tilt my chin up to look him in the eye. "You don't have to do this, you know," he assured me. "No one will blame you if you want to back out."

It was clear that he wanted to see me back out, that he wanted me to say I wasn't going to do it. He wanted me home and safe and I couldn't blame him for it because I wanted the same thing for him. I didn't want him out there getting shot at and going on dangerous missions.

I smiled at him softly. "Yeah, but if I stay here then I'm gonna worry about you. Someone has to go along and make sure you don't get yourself in trouble," I said teasingly. Bucky smiled and gave a little snort at that.

"I thought you were supposed to make sure Steve didn't get in trouble?"

I shook my head. "I'll let Yori watch his back. I've got different priorities. Bucky," I began slowly, "I need you to promise me something before we go out."

"Anything," Bucky said immediately, frowning slightly. "What do you need?"

"If you see me get shot, if you see me go down… don't stop. Don't come back for me. Don't panic. Just keep doing what you need to do and trust that I'll be okay."

Bucky visibly struggled with that, his indecision clear in his stormy eyes. He didn't want to promise that, but he knew that I needed him to. "Belle," he said quietly, "I can't promise I won't panic. But everything else… I'll _try_ ," he stressed. "I _will_ try, but I can't make you any promises on something like that."

I nodded. "That's good enough," I said, and boldly reached up to cup his cheek, smiling at him. Bucky grinned back at me and placed his hand over mine, his thumb stroking the back of my hand.

"Everyone ready?" Steve asked as he looked around the room, pointedly not staring at Bucky and I in the corner. He pulled my hand away from his face and kissed the back of it before letting go.

"Then let's go."

* * *

We headed out crammed in the back of one truck with Steve leading the way on his motorcycle. The factory was situated in enemy territory, on a bit of farmland just outside of Prague. It would take us nearly a week to get there, and we knew that heading out. What we didn't know was just how absolutely boring a week long road trip in the back of a truck could be.

"I spy with my little eye something blue," Falsworth announced boredly.

"Huh, is it the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan?" Dugan offered sarcastically, gesturing in the general direction of Steve. Falsworth feigned disbelief.

"How did you guess?"

"Probably because he's the only colorful thing for miles," Morita said dully. He nodded in the direction of Yori. "Except for you."

Yori groaned aloud and leaned her head back against the wall. "My wings hurt," she complained. "I'm not used to keeping them this close for this long."

I shifted along the bench, squishing myself nearly into Bucky's lap to try and give her room. I knew how sensitive her wings were and I knew that if she kept this up much longer she'd end up with a cramp in her wings and then she'd be grounded. "Better?"

"Loads," Yori said appreciatively, fanning her wings out slightly and sighing in relief. Curiously, Falsworth reached out a hand towards the wing closest to him.

"What do they-?"

"Ah!" Yori's tail whipped up, pointing threateningly at his hand. She narrowed her eyes at Falsworth warningly. "Nobody. Touches. The wings," she said firmly. Falsworth held up his hands and backed away obligingly.

"Geez Limey, who do you think you are, grabbing at a lady's wings like that?" Dugan teased him.

"Terribly sorry," Falsworth apologized. Yori looked him up and down suspiciously before prodding her tail in his direction one last time and letting it drape across her lap. The truck hit a pothole and we all jolted around in the back, shoulders banging together. I put out a hand to steady myself. Instead of hitting a bench, my hand landed on something warm and fabric-covered.

Startled, I looked around, whipping my hand back when I realized I'd put my hand down on Bucky's thigh.

"Sorry," I apologized, flushing brightly. Bucky smiled at me, eyes glinting, and wrapped an arm subtly around my waist, tugging me closer to his side.

"Not a problem," he assured me. I smiled shyly and stared at my lap.

Dugan banged loudly on the bench and yelled towards the cab. "Oi, Dernier, I thought you said you could drive these country roads!"

There was a rapid mutter of French and then Jones laughed and called back, "If you think you can do better, you're welcome to come up here and drive!"

* * *

It got dark about an hour later. Steve signaled to Dernier in the cab and we peeled off the road towards and abandoned barn to pass out for the night. Steve rolled up first, opening the door and holding it back for Dernier to drive the truck in. He followed us in, the door banging shut behind him.

"Everyone out," he called as Dernier shut off the engine. We all gratefully spilled out as Steve guided his motorcycle into an empty stall for the night. Yori was the first person out.

"Finally!" she said in relief as she hit the ground and spread her wings. She jumped up and flapped a couple of times, carrying herself into the loft. "I call the top bunk!"

"She's cheerful," Jones observed as he and Dernier climbed out of the cab. Bucky jumped out of the bed and reached back, offering me a hand down. I took it and hopped out, staring up at the loft in amusement.

"Yori prefers action," I explained as I stepped aside to let Dugan out. Dugan hopped down and Morita started pitching bedrolls out of the back. Dugan caught them and tossed one at each of us. He was left with one tucked under his left arm and an extra under his right.

"Hey up there, you gonna want something to sleep on?" he called towards the loft. Yori leaped off the loft, visibly startling a couple of the men. She landed easily in a crouch and straightened up, gesturing for Dugan to toss her the bedroll. He did so and she caught it.

"I call this stall," Morita said, moving towards the stall next to Steve's bike. He opened the door and promptly shut it again. "Never mind."

Curious, Falsworth ventured closer and peered over the top of the gate. He wrinkled his nose. "The last resident left a gift," he explained to the rest of us. We all laughed.

"Alright," Steve said, brushing his hands together and looking around the barn. "We'll bed down here for the night and then head out at first light tomorrow. If all goes to plan, we'll be at the HYDRA base by eleven hundred hours and maybe we'll spend the night here again tomorrow. Two of us should keep watch." Steve gestured to the large double doors at the front of the barn and a slightly smaller pair in the back. "Anybody want to volunteer?"

"Why not, my room's not ready yet," Morita said with a shrug. "There's a little more than a mint on my pillow."

We had a quick dinner of rations and then everybody moved off to find their own place to settle in for the night. Yori returned to the loft, Dernier and Jones both grabbed stables for themselves. Falsworth bedded down in the small tack room and Dugan passed out on an old stack of feed sacks. Bucky bedded down by the truck and I got my own stall.

I lay there, shivering. It was December and it was freezing here. The sleeping roll could only keep out so much of the cold, and I ended up curled into a tight ball. On the plus side, the smell of hay and animals was familiar and comforting to me. It helped me drift off into something like a doze. I jolted out of that, suddenly aware that my fingers and nose were freezing.

Sitting up with a small groan, I sat up and pulled out my mother's pocket watch. Angling it so that a bit of moonlight coming through the boards illuminated the face, I realized it was nearly midnight. Barely three hours since I'd laid down and I knew if I didn't warm back up I wouldn't be getting any sleep at all tonight.

Deciding to heck with it – I could go without a night of sleep – I tossed aside my sleeping bag and exited my stall, considering relieving someone one watch. I saw Steve still sitting by the big barn doors, but Dernier had replaced Morita at some point. I figured Steve could use some rest, so I headed towards him.

"Belle?"

In the dim light I could pick out Bucky sitting up by one of the truck's tires. I moved closer to him as he squirmed out of his sleeping bag and stood up. In the dim light I could just barely see the glint of his eyes and his teeth as he gave me a smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He reached out, hand swatting at my side. I realized what he was going for and slipped my hand into his. He flinched. "Jesus Belle," he hissed quietly, snatching up my other hand and holding both of mine between his. "Your hands are freezing!"

"I'm too cold to sleep," I whispered back to him. Bucky brought my hands to his face and breathed warm air on them, I sighed in relief as a little bit of feeling came back to my fingers.

"Come on," Bucky said, reaching down to grab his sleeping bag and tugging me back in the direction of my stall. "You may be a big, tough mutant, but you need sleep just like the rest of us," he chided as he bent down and opened up my sleeping bag. He sat down on it and worked his open.

I had a pretty good idea, but I still asked uncertainly, "What are you doing?"

"Come on Belle," Bucky said, opening his arms instead of answering. I bit my lip, uncertain.

There was something between us, that was obvious, but neither of us had ever said anything about it and we'd never really clarified what we were to each other. But this? Holding me and keeping me warm in the middle of a barn in Prague? That wasn't something just friends did for each other. Or was it? Even if it was, it still felt pretty intimate.

Wind sliced through the spaces between the boards again and I shivered. My decision made for me, I crawled into Bucky's arms. He draped his sleeping roll over us and tucked it in behind my back. He wrapped his arms around me, tugging me so close that my entire front was pressed along his side and my head was on his shoulder. My hand found a comfortable spot on his chest and I blushed slightly. All I could feel was his coat under my palm but the position of my hand itself felt a little presumptuous.

Bucky didn't seem to care though, he just placed his hand over mine and rubbed the back with his thumb. I pulled my other hand close to my chest.

"There, now we'll _both_ stay warm," Bucky whispered. He placed a kiss on the top of my head. I wasn't even thinking about it as I nuzzled my cold nose against his neck. Bucky jolted. "Jesus Belle!" He chuckled. "You're gonna freeze me out of the stall."

"Sorry," I said, pulling away from him slightly. Bucky fought me, pulling me back against him.

"None of that," he chided. "Just surprised me is all." I felt warm breath fan my face as Bucky shifted and then lips pressed against my nose for a moment, warming it up. I was glad it was dark, because I was sure I was the color of Falsworth's beret.

"Go to sleep, Belle," Bucky whispered to me, and I felt my eyelids get heavy at his urging. "Get some sleep."

* * *

Steve sat in the moonlight on an empty crate, his sketchbook open on his lap. He glanced up and began trying to fill in the shadows of the farmland in front of him. His ears pricked at the sound of creaking from the loft, assuming Yori was shifting around up there trying to get comfortable. The swooshing sound of her wings being unfolded made him look up. Like some kind of bat-like demon, Yori leaped off the edge of the loft and glided down to land upright next to his crate.

"Don't bother Bucky and Josie for watch," she murmured, crossing her arms and staring out at the farmland. A slice of moonlight crossed her face, tossing the markings into sharp relief. The artist in him made Steve turn a page and start sketching her in profile.

"Why's that?" he asked absently as he drew the sweep of a gently-folded wing behind her. Yori smirked.

"Your friend's taken his Belle into her stall and is keeping her warm."

Steve flushed. "O- _oh._ " He looked up when he heard Yori snort. She shook her head at him.

"Not like _that_ ," she chided. "Honestly… film star, war hero… _pervert_ ," she added teasingly, her tail flicking behind her adding punctuation.

Steve stammered, "I-I'm not-"

"No, you're not," Yori agreed. "You're almost unbearably innocent, in fact."

Steve couldn't help but be a little offended by that one. "Well, I'm sure you've met a lot of men of all kinds travelling like you have, but I-"

"None."

"-don't think that…" Her words reached him. "What?" Steve looked up at Yori in surprise. She stared down her nose at him, a smirk on her face and one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, because when a man looks at a woman for the first time, the first thing that runs through his mind is 'god, I hope she has a tail,'" Yori said sarcastically, pointing hers at him for emphasis.

Steve struggled. Yori didn't seem concerned by the fact that men didn't find her attractive, but he still felt like he should disagree with her. Wasn't that what you were normally supposed to do? Tell a girl she was pretty when she said she wasn't? Then again, Yori wasn't normal.

"That's not true," Steve said, shaking his head. "You're really…" Unfortunately the words that were running through his head were things like _unique_ and _sharp_ and _dangerous,_ and those weren't exactly what girls liked to be called in his admittedly limited experience.

Yori stared at him knowingly. "Can't find a kind adjective?" she guessed. "You wouldn't be the first. I'm not too concerned, to be honest. Homo sapiens…" She shook her head in distaste and gestured to the team sleeping in the barn behind her. "You've managed to find some of the rare good ones. Maybe one day I'll find a nice man with a tail and settle down, but until then, I'm content to run around and shoot things with you gentlemen. I think I prefer it, actually," she admitted, staring contemplatively at the scenery.

For several minutes they stood in companionable silence, Steve sneaking glances at her to judge his sketch by, trying to shield his work with his arm. He didn't know exactly how Yori would take to being drawn.

Finally, Yori turned away from the door. "Oyasuminasai," she said quietly.

Steve tried to repeat the word – whatever it was – back to her. "Owasunim… uh…"

Yori smirked. "We'll work on that."

* * *

Oyasuminasai – Good night.


	28. The Raid

Chapter 28: The Raid

The HYDRA base was in what seemed to be an old textile factory. The rest of us crouched in the trees around the base, watching as three HYDRA guards circled the building on patrol. They were completely oblivious to Yori standing on the roof, hanging off the edge to peer into the windows. She straightened up and remained perched on the edge, waiting until the guard passed beneath her. She leaped over the edge and in a few smooth strokes was at the edge of the field. She ducked behind a tree and slipped over to us.

"Five guards circling," Yori explained. "About twenty-five to thirty inside. This place seems more like a warehouse than a factory," she explained.

"Weapons?" Steve asked

"Rifles," Yori said with a shrug. "Nothing too exciting."

"Good. We're all clear on the plan?" Steve asked.

"Find something, make it go boom," Dernier said happily. The rest of us grinned at the pyromaniacal Frenchman.

"In a nutshell, yes. Yori, can you handle the guards?" Steve asked. Yori looked outright offended at him asking. She kicked off the ground and took off, flying back over to the top of the warehouse.

"I think you hurt her feelings," Bucky said, slapping Steve on the back.

"Everybody ready?" Steve asked, looking around at us all.

"Born ready," Dugan said as the rest of us nodded.

"Then let's move."

Steve and the others moved off. I started to follow them, only to have someone grab my hand and tug me around. I spun on one foot haphazardly, breathing in the scent of Bucky.

"Wha- Mph!"

Bucky's mouth was slanted over mine. It was barely there, just touching for a moment, but I made my head swim dizzily. He pulled back and I gaped at him. I licked my lips. My mouth watered and my stomach flipped as I tasted him there.

"Just in case," Bucky whispered earnestly, cupping my face in his hands and briefly leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. "You ready?" he asked, adrenaline starting to spark a fire behind his eyes. I imagined mine were doing the same as I felt the energy flood through me as well.

"Born ready," I replied with a bit of a growl as he let go of me. With nothing more said between us, we joined the rest of the team at the edge of the tree line.

Dugan and Morita lead the assault, opening fire on the guard who was walking around the front of the building. He dropped, riddled with shotgun pellets and rifle rounds. The other two presumably headed towards the sound of the noise as we sprinted forward towards the door. I saw Yori leap off the building with her blade drawn and guessed that someone was about to lose a head.

Steve raised a foot and kicked the doors. The plank holding them shut snapped and the doors swung open. The men were already firing before the doors were even open. Our group split for cover as the HYDRA soldiers inside got their guns up and ready and started firing back. Steve launched his shield, dropping one. It glanced off of a machine before flying back to his hand. Steve caught it and ducked behind a crate.

Dugan reached for the grenades around his chest. "Bombs away!" he yelled a little crazily and yanked the pin, tossing it into a corner of the building. The grenade blew, taking out part of that corner and sending three bodies flying as smoke and grit filled the air.

I yanked my shotgun off my shoulder and stood half-concealed by a wall, taking shots at the HYDRA soldiers. They were wearing armor though. The birdshot rattled against their vests and some of the pellets made contact with flesh, but it wasn't enough to slow them down.

I tucked my shotgun back over my shoulder and forced a bone from my palm, grabbing my gun in my other hand. I spun out from behind the wall and ran for a machine. I kicked off the ground and landed on the top of it, sprinting along. I hit the end and flipped, flinging the bone at one HYDRA and shooting at another. They both dropped. I landed and yelped as a bullet sliced through my arm. I whipped around and shot the man behind me before throwing myself sideways as another HYDRA agent appeared around a corner.

I popped back out to fire at him, only to see him drop as a shield made contact with his head. I smiled slightly and picked myself up, glancing at my arm long enough to make sure the bullet had gone through before ducking into a hallway for cover and firing again.

Something shattered overhead and everyone, us or HYDRA, looked up to see Yori flying through a window, dragging one of the guards in her tail behind her. She laughed as she swung around, her sword slicing through the soldier. His legs fell to the ground independently of his torso. Her whip unfurled from her fingers and lashed at a pair of HYDRA soldiers who were lining up shots on her. They flew back, their chests laid open by the sizzling line of light.

I heard footsteps behind me and whipped around just in time to catch a fist in my face. My head lashed back. Instinctively I raised my pistol, but my wrist was grabbed and skillfully broken before it was tossed away.

I swung myself into a spinning kick, legs lashing at the head of the HYDRA soldier as my wrist mended itself. He was knocked sideways into a wall. I straightened up and his eyes widened as he saw me.

"Fraulein!" he bleated in surprise before I thrust my palm out. A bone grew from my hand and was forced through his chest, killing him instantly. I pulled my head back, sucking the bone into my palm as I bent down and picked up my gun.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a girl," I muttered in annoyance as I straightened up, grinning widely.

It was just there, flickering red at the edge of my vision. Tigress was roaring in my mind, urging me to fall totally into an instinctive state and promising me that I could rip through my enemies like paper if I did. I forced her down and stamped a lid on those feelings, pleased as the red receded a little.

I ran around the corner and raised my gun, firing three times and dropping two of the four remaining HYDRA soldiers. The second one was taken out by a shield-thrust from a flying Steve and Yori dropped out of nowhere, cleanly taking off the head of the last one. His head rolled past her feet and she gave it a kick, sending it flying towards a machine.

Steve straightened up and looked at her sternly. "Was that really necessary?" he asked, barely panting despite the fact that we'd just come through a firefight.

"Extremely," Yori smirked as she flicked the blood from her blade and slid it home into its sheath. "I smell blood, Josie, you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," I said, looking down at my arm in annoyance. The wound was already healed but there was still a hole in my shirt and a bloodstain. I had a feeling that I was going to lose a lot of good shirts to similar situations.

"Everyone scatter and look for intel," Steve called and received shouts back from all around the factory as the team got to work.

Yori snickered and glanced at Steve. He looked down at her, smiling sheepishly as she deepened her voice and mocked, "Look for intel?"

"Too much?" Steve asked wryly.

"Just a tad," she said as she turned to face me. "Come on, let's look at the offices," she said, nodding to the hallway behind me. Her eyes widened and she didn't even have to shout a warning before I heard the dragging sound. I turned around and fired instinctively.

The man I thought I had killed had dragged himself out of the hallway and, gurgling his way toward death, had raised his sidearm at the back of my head. My shot got him right between the eyes and he fell back, staring at me unknowingly.

I was panting as Yori moved to my side, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You alright?" she asked in concern. I nodded, eyes still fixed on the man's face.

I'd killed men in the raid on HYDRA trying to get Bucky free, but I'd never stopped moving then, never seen their faces. This man I had. I could see his blank blue stare fixed on my accusingly. _You did this to me_ , his sightless eyes seemed to say. _You did this._

Yori stepped between the corpse and me, grabbing my face between her hands like Bucky had done earlier. She looked at me with intent red eyes, jerking me out of my stupor.

"Your or him," she whispered fiercely. "You or him, Josie. This is war. It's survival of the fittest here. You know that."

I did, I just needed to be reminded of it. A sense of acceptance settled over me, wiping away the horror. I wondered if my animalistic instincts kept me from really minding that I'd taken a life. I wondered if that made me less than human. I wondered if I really was the monster Schmidt had called Yori. I wondered a lot of things, but I pushed them all aside as I followed Yori down the hall to the first office.

I tried the door and, seeing as it was locked, kicked it open. The door banged against the wall as Yori walked inside. She moved immediately to the filing cabinets and I headed to the desk, opening drawers and rifling through paper. Most of it was paperwork left over from when the factory was operational, but there was one drawer that was locked. I forced a knife of bone from my palm and slid it into the gap between the drawer's edge, using it as a lever to pry the thing open.

It sprang out, revealing a stack of papers. I looked them over and realized they were shipping manifestos. I pulled them out and folded them up, shoving them into a pocket on my cargo pants. The filing cabinet slammed shut behind me loudly. Yori threw up her hands in annoyance.

"It's all from the factory," she explained. She nodded to the door. "Come on, let's try the other door."

We left the office and headed down the hall to the other door. It was labeled SHOWERROOM. This door, oddly enough, was locked as well. Yori kicked in this door and we both stepped inside. The pair of us took one look at the room and froze in horror.

It used to be a shower room. Now the temperature was turned down as far as possible. The tiled walls and floors were stained with red smears. Four metal tables with white sheets draped over them were scattered around along with standing trays of surgical materials. A table was crammed against one wall and covered in papers.

My heart had stopped. I felt faint with the presence of death lingering in the air.

"We have to look, don't we?" I asked softly, staring at the metal tables. Three of them were occupied.

Yori nodded gently. I yelled over my shoulder, "Steve! Get in here!" and took a deep breath. The smell of rot and decay reached me and I breathed back out. The smell stayed in my nostrils and coated my tongue.

I moved to the closest table and reached for the edge of the sheet. My fingers brushed against hair. I tried to tell myself it was just like the rats I'd dissected in my biology classes. I had no problem touching them. It didn't work though.

Behind me, Yori let out a snarl. "They're _mutants!"_ she roared. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her leaning against the table. On it was the body of a man with hair in an icy blue and white color. His skin seemed to have a fine coating of cracked frost on it.

I lifted the sheet on my table. Under it was a woman with wide, staring purple eyes. Other than that she looked completely normal, just slightly shiny. I touched her cheek cautiously. My finger tingled. I lifted it away and saw a bit of something slimy on the tip of it, eating into my skin. I healed too fast for it to do any damage.

Footsteps out in the hall reached my ears as I wiped my finger on the edge of the cloth and respectfully covered the woman up again.

"Josie? Yori?" called Steve's voice. It sounded like the rest of the commandos were with him. "Where are you? We need to head- _Oh god."_

I looked up from the woman. Sure enough, the team was clustered by the door, slowly trickling in and staring around in horror. Yori was still leaning against the table where the man laid, her head bowed. Bucky's eyes flicked from the blue-haired man, to Yori, to me, to the other tables.

"Are they all…?" he asked uncertainly, his eyes landing on me. He looked at me pityingly.

I bit my lip, feeling my eyes water, and turned to the final table. I stared at it, but I couldn't make myself walk over and lift the sheet. "Y-Yori I can't," I said thickly.

Yori's head snapped up. She was pale, her cheeks sucked in, but her eyes burned with rage. She flipped the sheet back over the man and approached the third table. I made myself turn away and approach the table where files on each subject and several more were laid out. I picked up the three that seemed most recent. There were pictures of the people clipped inside, but no names. Just numbers.

The blue-haired man was 23.

The purple-eyed woman was 16.

The last file was a woman with ash-grey hair. She was number 8.

" _No!"_

I whipped around. Yori was standing over the last table with the sheet lifted. On it was the grey-haired woman, pale and cold. Yori's eyes were wide with horror and agony as she stared down at the woman. Yori's hands darted out, cupping the woman's pallid cheeks as she rested her forehead on the woman's.

"No, no, _no_ …. Adairia… No… _Kaji_ …"

My hand came up to cover my mouth as I stared at the woman on the table. Yori knew her, that much was obvious. I tried to imagine what she must be feeling, walking in here and finding a friend concealed under one of those sheets. I tried to imagine what I would feel pulling back the sheet and finding Yori lying on the table. I remembered finding her strapped to a table in the HYDRA weapons facility, but this must be a hundred times worse.

"Yori," I said softly, moving towards her. I reached out hesitantly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yori… I'm sorry… She's gone."

Yori's head snapped up and she let out a screech. Not a human screech, the kind a person made when something scared them. It was high-pitched and demonic, a sound I'd only ever heard Yori make. It vibrated off the tiled walls and tore into my sensitive ears. I winced and covered them, taking quick steps back and letting out an animalistic snarl of my own in instinctive protest.

Yori forced herself away from Adairia's body and stalked towards the door, where Steve blocked her way past. "Move," she snarled at him, fingers crackling with energy. Steve shook his head.

"Yori, whatever you're going to do, think about it. Would your friend want-"

"I don't know what she would want, do I? She's dead!" Yori shouted back at him, tears trailing down her cheeks. I stared, captivated despite myself. I'd never seen Yori cry before, not once.

"I know, and I'm sorry…" Steve said. He stretched out a hand towards her shoulder like I had. In one quick motion Yori grabbed his hand and flipped him over her hip, leaving him lying on his back in disbelief as she tore past him. I heard the distinctive hum of her light whip coming from the factory as well as a sizzling, wet sound. It took me a moment to connect the noises.

Yori was letting out her anger on one of the bodies.

"Leave her be," I said softly as Dugan started to go after her. "Go near her when she's like this and she may hurt you accidentally. You're human. You're breakable. I'll go get her in a minute."

Steve picked himself up off the floor, staring at the door with a tormented expression on his face. "If I had known this is what we were walking into-"

"You think we're surprised?" I asked him sadly. Steve turned to me, eyebrows raised questioningly. I gestured to the bodies on the tables. "Why do you think we hide? If we come forward, this is what's likeliest to happen to us. This is our future. You don't understand how lucky Yori and I are… many people don't see people like us as human. We might as well be lab rats," I said.

I turned away from the team and looked back at the files, scanning through them. Words flashed behind my eyes as I read them and burned into my brain. My stomach roiled and I felt physically ill as I read the descriptions and results of some of the 'testing' they'd done.

The scent of death nearly obscured Bucky's as he approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's a dumb question, but are you okay?"

"Her hair used to burn," I said softly in reply.

"Huh?"

I nodded to Adairia's body, and her grayish hair the color of cinders. "Her hair used to literally burn like fire," I said softly, holding up her file. "And that woman… her eyes changed color depending on what she'd coated her skin with, either poisons or acids. That man would frost anything he touched. They were amazing, and their names aren't even in here," I said, gesturing to the files. "I don't know if they had families or kids or spouses."

"Do you think this is Schmidt continuing his work on Yori?" Steve asked, approaching the tables. I shook my head.

"These papers were written by a Klaus Schmidt," I said, pointing to a signature.

"Relative?" Steve asked. I shrugged.

"Maybe, but Schmidt is a common last name. It's just as likely they've never even met. I don't even see anything about HYDRA in these reports, actually," I realized with a frown.

"Do you think HYDRA just gave this other Schmidt… what, lab space?" Falsworth asked, looking uncertainly at the lumps on the tables.

"Maybe, there's no way of telling. Perhaps in exchange for what he could tell them about mutants?" I couldn't make myself look back at Adairia. "What do we do, Steve?" I asked quietly.

Steve bit his lip. "We take the files. We bury them," he nodded to the bodies. "And we burn this place down so no one can ever use it like this again."


	29. Bucky's Girl

**I got to see Civil War today. You got an early update.**

 **Speaking of which, I want to open the floor. Is there anything you'd like to see go down in this story? I'm open to suggestions so long as it doesn't entirely mess with my story line. I just feel like there's only so much I can do with Captain America before I reach the end of it. Or rather, before Bucky dies. After that, I will jump straight into Steve coming back and a few chapters of Avengers before I carry on into Winter Soldier and the return of Bucky, which I'm sure we will all be eagerly awaiting.**

 **Side note - some of the suggestions offered may end up in a side story I want to put together of little scenes that popped into my head but don't really have a place to go in the story. I'll probably put a lot of things in there concerning Josie and Howard and Tony. And perhaps some stuff between Josie and some x-men, who knows? I haven't gotten it started yet, but it will be called The Interim Years so watch for that!** **I'm also contemplating writing another story featuring Yori and Josie in X-men First Class but we'll I love these characters and I don't want to put them back in my toy chest.  
**

* * *

Chapter 29: Bucky's Girl

I left the men in the makeshift morgue to gather up the files and move the bodies and stepped out into the main floor of the factory. All around me I could see charred, smoking lash marks on walls and machines. I wrinkled my nose and stepped past a body that had been reduced to shreds of meat and organs and followed the sounds of Yori's whip cracking.

I rounded a corner and found her standing over a fresh body. She raised her hand, her whip swinging up.

"Yori," I called softly. Surprise made her whip around and I was glad I hadn't let the others follow her when she first tore off. I leaned back into a bridge and I just barely dodged it. "Yori, stop," I said firmly as I straightened up.

"Why?" Yori demanded furiously. She scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her sleeve. She was covered from head to toe in splattered gore. All she achieved was smearing the blood on her face. "Why should I?"

"They were just men following orders."

Yori scowled at me thunderously. "Too many good people have suffered because of men following orders. I'm sick of it."

"Come away from there," I pleaded, offering her my hand. "We're… we're going to bury them all in the field outside."

Immediately Yori was up and moving away from the body. "Not without me," she said firmly. I nodded and gestured for her to head back into the hallway. I saw Falsworth and Bucky come out carrying boxed files. Morita, Dugan, Dernier, Steve, and Jones were all very carefully carrying the wrapped bodies out of the hallway. Yori instantly joined them, stretching out her arms wordlessly. They knew which one she wanted, and Steve handed over Adairia's wrapped body.

Silently, they started a procession out of the building. Falsworth and Bucky peeled off to put the boxes in the truck and fetch shovels. The rest of us headed over to an empty patch of field where wildflowers were growing thickly. The three bodies were laid out to wait for their graves. Yori took one look at the line of three corpses, turned around, and walked into the trees.

"Where's she going?" Dugan asked, lifting his bowler hat off of his head and using it to shade his eyes as he watched her go.

I shook my head. "Who knows?"

Bucky and Falsworth reappeared, arms full of shovels. We all got to work, digging deeply into the ground and trying to make the holes as neat as we possibly could. The man was lowered into the first hole, the purple-eyed woman into the second, and Adairia into the last.

"Do we say something?" Jones asked uncertainly.

"I do."

We all spun around to see Yori approaching, three reasonably-sized rocks in her arms. She carried them without difficulty despite their weight. Yori walked along the heads of the graves, placing the rocks above each one. The first two were marked with simple crosses etched into the stone but the last had a name and date on it, along with a character at the bottom. That was placed at Adairia's head.

"How'd you do that?" Jones asked in disbelief. Yori held up her fingers, glowing an ominous green. She didn't say anything though, just knelt beside the last grave in seiza and bowed her head, folding her hands together. Her lips moved frantically, but even I couldn't tell what she was saying.

Nearly five minutes later Yori rose and backed away from the grave. "Fill it," she bade, her voice thick with emotion. I walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. Yori wasn't a very physical person in terms of affection, but she sank willingly into my arms, wrapping her tail and wings around me as well.

"She didn't deserve this," Yori murmured into my shoulder as I stroked her hair. "She was a good girl…"

"None of us do," I replied softly, kissing her forehead. I looked over her head and met Bucky's stare. I felt terrible as my stomach flopped at the reminder of our kiss, of falling asleep in his arms the night before. It seemed like it was lifetimes ago, something inappropriate to consider at a funeral.

Bucky offered me a faint, sympathetic smile. I returned the gesture weakly as the men got to work filling in the graves. It took several minutes, but finally Morita brushed away a bit of dirt from the man's headstone and we turned away from the graves, heading back to the truck.

* * *

We had to drive later into the night, but as Steve had said we spent the night in the same abandoned barn. The pall of the day hung over us like a dark cloud. Like before, Yori was the first person out of the truck, but she didn't say anything. She just moved to the front of the barn and sat down on the crate where Steve had kept watch the night before.

None of us had the stomach for dinner. By unspoken consent, we just climbed out of the truck with our sleeping bags and got ready for bed.

"Josie?"

I paused as I made my way to my stall from the night before. Falsworth was standing by the tack room door. I approached him, asking wearily, "Yes James?"

"I'd like to apologize," Falsworth said softly. I shook my head.

"If you want to apologize to anyone it's Yori who needs it, she's the one who knew-" Falsworth cut me off by shaking his head.

"That's not what I'm apologizing for," he corrected. "I suppose in the back of my mind I was still convinced that you and your friend shouldn't be here. I couldn't begin to understand why you'd ask to come with us. I understand now," he said, his voice shaky. "You may be fighting a different war, but it's a war all the same. You're fighting to exist."

I smiled slightly. "It's not a different war, not really. It's all the same issue – someone got too much power and decided that someone else was lesser than them. Just a different battlefield."

Falsworth nodded. "I understand. But I feel I should tell you how much I admire you and Yori."

I smiled at him, genuinely touched by his words. "Thank you, James. Admiration is not something I ever thought I'd really receive much of in my life. It means a lot."

Falsworth nodded again. "You deserve it. You both do. Goodnight," he said, stepping away from the door.

"Goodnight," I replied, and turned back to my stall. I paused when I saw Bucky already sitting on his opened-up sleeping roll.

"Do you mind?" he whispered. I bit my lip. I knew I should say yes for many reasons. Propriety's sake for one, and because he'd never promised me anything or made any real declarations of his feelings towards me – the kiss from earlier flashed in my mind – but I couldn't bring myself to turn him away. Right now all I wanted was for someone to hold me like when I was little.

I shook my head and started undoing my sleeping roll. Like the night before I lay down next to Bucky, curling up willingly against his side. He draped the opened sleeping bag over us and wrapped me in his arms, pulling me closer. I laid my head on his chest, thinking.

I had understood, coming out here, that I would see things that would turn my stomach, things that would make me furious and depressed and a hundred other terrible feelings. I would see things that would give me nightmares, things that I might not ever recover from seeing. I just hadn't expected it to be so soon, so close to home.

But I couldn't bring myself to regret coming either. I was proud to know that because of what I'd done those three mutants had a decent burial, that maybe their deaths could help us come closer to bringing down whoever Klaus Schmidt was. Anyone normal coming across the bodies might have thought they were HYDRA experiments. They wouldn't have known what they really were.

I tried to imagine what those people must have gone through and shivered, hastily pushing that train of thought aside. It was far too real, far too close. It could easily have been me on that table had I been born in Europe or if I had come over here sooner. It could have been Yori if I'd gotten to her a couple of days later.

I understood Yori's dislike – not even dislike really, more of a distrust or disdain – for homo sapiens. I knew she hadn't had the same experiences I had. It was hard to believe that the man who had strapped her down and experimented on her was part of the same species as the man now holding me and stroking my hair.

"Why are you so good to me?" I breathed, toying with a button on his jacket, clicking my nails against it and tracing the edge with the tip of my fingers.

Bucky chuckled, the sound vibrating in his chest. "What kinda question is that?"

"A real one," I replied bluntly. "Why are you so good to me? Why aren't you afraid? Why don't you hate me?"

Bucky sighed. "I don't know, really. I mean, it is a little intimidating, especially after seeing Yori use Steve for a punching bag. I know you can hurt me, I guess I just… I trust you won't." He shrugged. "You're a good person Belle, you won't hurt someone for no reason. And I'm not ever going to give you a reason," he swore. He tilted his head to look down at me. I looked up at him, blue eyes burning into my soul as I saw the honesty there. Bucky really, really meant it. He was promising me this from the bottom of his heart.

His eyes took on a whole new kind of burn as he continued, "As far as why I'm good to you, well, I'd think that'd be pretty clear by now. I all but told you how I felt about you right before…" He trailed off. He was trying to spare my feelings, but I knew what he was thinking. Before we charged into the factory, before we found the bodies.

I flushed, remembering Bucky kissing me. "Yeah, you made your feelings pretty clear," I agreed, turning my head slightly to hide my shy smile in his chest.

"You didn't," Bucky pointed out. "I don't want to pressure you to say anything," he added hastily. "I'd planned to do this up right – take you out to dinner and dancing, walk around and sit in a park like we did back home, and ask you to be my girl."

I kept my face buried in his chest, chuckling softly. Bucky pulled away from me slightly, looking down at me. "What's funny?" he asked, a small smile starting to pick up one corner of his mouth. I could hear the amusement in his voice, happy just because I was happy. It warmed my heart and chased out some of the darkness of the day.

"I was just thinking," I mused, "that all would have been a lot nicer than curled up in an abandoned barn in Czechoslovakia. But I think this right here is just a little more genuine."

"More genuine," Bucky repeated. He laughed, tightening his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Nothin' showy, just you and me. So what about it?" he asked. "Will you be my girl, Belle?"

I didn't know what got into me. I'd never been flirtatious or seductive like some of the girls back home. I'd always felt ridiculous giving out coy smiles and twirling my hair around my finger. I didn't know how to do all those soft brushes on the shoulder or arm that were supposed to drive a man crazy. I didn't know what to say or how to say it.

But with Bucky I felt confident, like I didn't have to put on an act. I never had around him, but he still liked me. He wanted me to be his girl. Bucky's girl, the thought spun my head more than the serum had.

I felt simultaneously shy and incredibly bold as I leaned up and pressed my lips to Bucky's in answer. Neither of us had brushed our teeth for a couple of days, we were lying in straw, and I had a bullet hole through my shirt, but I was happy. I leaned back, feeling content and just a little bit smug. Somehow, by some act of God, I'd managed to get a man like Bucky Barnes interested in me.

"To be honest, I think I have been for a while already," I admitted sheepishly. "Peggy's been teasing me about you since Camp Lehigh."

Bucky laughed. "And Steve's been giving me a hard time since I got back."

I burrowed my nose into his chest and breathed in deeply. Bucky peered down at me, still stroking my hair and rubbing my back.

"You really do like the way I smell, don't you?" he hummed amusedly. I nodded sheepishly.

"I know it sounds strange. It's just very soothing to me." I shook my head. "I can't explain what it's like really. It calms me down."

"You've never actually told me what I smell like," Bucky realized. I smiled slightly and inhaled again.

"Guess," I challenged.

"Grass?"

"No."

"Sweat and blood?"

"No… well a little. Under that."

"The best hamburgers in Brooklyn?" Bucky and I both laughed at that one before he reached up and tapped me on the nose. "Come on Belle. Tell me?"

I looked up at him. He was pouting, looking out from under his brow. He looked completely ridiculous, and utterly adorable.

I decided to humor him and replied simply, "A storm."

* * *

"You need sleep. I know you did get any last night."

"I've gone a week without sleep. Two days won't bother me," Yori replied absently as Steve approached her crate. Her eyes were fixed absently on the trees in the distance.

"You need to sleep," Steve insisted, leaning against the barn door. "I can watch, it's no trouble."

"I can't sleep," Yori said bluntly, blinking as she pulled her eyes away from the horizon and looked at him. "Even before today, I rarely sleep through the night. Too many nightmares. Too many years."

Normally, Yori looked no older than Steve. Now as he looked at her he thought he could see a weight on her shoulders and a dimness in her eyes that he'd always associated with older people. She still looked young, but the way she carried herself was like one who had seen the world. And she had.

Steve had known he was signing himself up for some extra emotions, allowing women onto the team. But he couldn't blame Yori for this. He tried to imagine how he would feel walking into the lab, pulling back a sheet, and seeing Bucky lying there pale and cold. His mind immediately rejected the idea.

"How'd you meet her?" Steve asked quietly.

Yori smiled slightly. She pulled her legs under her until she was kneeling on top of the crate. "It wasn't long after I left Josie's. I cut through Europe and decided to run up to Scotland, see what I could get into. Then the war started and I was stuck in the UK. That's when I met Adairia. She had just gotten married and her husband had headed off to war. He knew what she was, but he loved her anyway. She was so in love, so young…

"She let me stay with her. She said the house felt empty with her husband gone. Personally, I think she just felt sorry for me. I took the offer, regardless. I taught her how to fight, how to advance her powers. It was nice.

"But then she got a note saying that her husband was MIA. She made up her mind that she was going to go look for him. I told her that she wasn't strong enough, but she was insistent. And honestly, I thought she could handle herself. Her talent was fire – she could create and manipulate it. It was that I doubted she could kill.

"We split up when we reached the continent, each following different leads. I got captured by HYDRA, as you know. Apparently this other Schmidt got his hands on Adairia. Now I'm alive and she's dead. I never even found out if her husband was still alive or not." Yori smiled faintly. "Guess it doesn't matter now, eh? At least if I find him I can tell him where she is."

"It _matters,"_ Steve insisted. "It matters because it was her goal and even if her husband is dead, at least you found an answer for her."

Yori let out a breath through her nose. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm going to try to find out the moment we get back to base. I'll get Adairia's answer for her." She sighed heavily. "This isn't the first friend I've lost, after all. I suppose it's just that she died so young, so… innocent. Each time I lose someone young I'm reminded of how they should be living long, full lives and I'm the one that deserves death."

Steve shook his head. "You can't think like that, Yori," he disagreed, trying his best to console her. "You can't help that you've lived so long-"

"You're misunderstanding again," Yori cut him off. "I _deserve_ death. I should be the one in the ground. They, who have done nothing wrong, should be living their lives. Adairia should be in her little cottage with her husband raising their first child. Instead she's in some random field in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a rock to mark that she ever lived." Yori smirked self-deprecatingly. "Maybe losing them all is my punishment."

Steve placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yori, I know you've got a past you're not proud of, but look what you're doing now! You can't have done anything that doesn't deserve forgiveness, especially after so long."

Yori turned to look at him, red eyes challenging blue. "Haven't I?" she asked softly, silkily. "You don't know what I'm capable of, Steve. You've never seen me angry. Not grieving, like today, but angry and wrathful and filled with hate. You don't know how monstrous I can be. How… _demonic."_

There was a twist in her last word and Steve knew there was a lot of emotion tied up in it. Considering how she looked, how could there not be? She had to have heard it hurled at her hundreds, thousands of times.

"I should apologize for flipping you today," Yori spoke up suddenly. "It was wrong of me. Of all the people I've hurt, I do feel a bit bad for injuring you."

"It didn't hurt," Steve said immediately. It was a lie though. The breath had been blasted out of his lungs when he connected with the tile floor. Shock didn't even begin to describe how he felt when he realized that tiny little Yori had taken him down.

"Despite that…" Yori's eyes were back on the trees. "You're almost unbearably innocent, I've thought that since I met you. You carry her picture in your compass for god's sake," Yori said with a small smile.

Steve blushed as he thought of the small picture of Peggy he had tucked away inside of his compass. He could see her in his mind, the graceful curls in her hair, the brilliant red of her lips. He could hear her lilting, accented voice in his ear. He'd be hard pressed to pinpoint one thing, but something about Peggy Carter had completely bewitched him from the moment he'd seen her walk down the line of recruits back at Camp Lehigh.

"Oh dear god," Yori said in disgust. "Go away, you look so lovesick it's actually making my teeth hurt."

Steve's flush darkened, but when he looked at Yori, she was smirking. It was something, at least. He considered it his job to keep his men safe physically but also to help them through the rough days. This had definitely been a rough day for Yori.

"Well," he said, pushing himself off the door. "Omyasi- uh… what was that word you said last night?"

Yori's smirk widened. "Oyasuminasai," she said slowly, rotating to look at him. "O-ya-su-mi-na-sai."

"Oyasuminasai," Steve repeated slowly, and felt a little bit proud when Yori nodded her approval.

"Your accent needs work, but I'll teach you a few phrases eventually."


	30. Training

Chapter 30: Training

"Found anything in those files?" Falsworth asked as I flipped through some of the files from the HYDRA base.

"Yes, but nothing good," I replied grimly, flipping a paper over. "I've found references to subjects I haven't found files on. They're at different 'labs.'"

"So that wasn't the only place this was happening." Dugan looked vaguely ill. "Damn, just when I think they can't get any worse."

I bobbed my eyebrows. "I'd recommend you stay away from these files, then," I advised.

Bucky looked sideways at me. "You don't have to comb through these, Josie," he assured me. "The SSR has people that can go through it all."

I shook my head. I couldn't explain my desire to go through the files. Maybe I felt like I owed it to these people to find out what happened to them, because I was alive and they were dead. Maybe I just liked torturing myself. Who knew?

"I want to do it myself," I said firmly, setting the file aside and pulling another one out of the box. I glanced up at Yori. She sat across from me, staring blankly at the opposite side of the truck. I heard her talking with Steve the night before and frankly I was surprised she'd opened up as much as she had. Then again, Steve was easy to trust. I suspected she was falling back into her depressed slump again.

"Yori," I said quietly. "You want to get out and stretch your wings for a while?" Yori wordlessly shook her head. She looked a wreck, her clothes covered in bloodstains and her hair in knots. She'd at least gotten the blood off her face and hands, but it was still sprayed over the rest of her. She didn't seem to care either.

I sighed and opened the next file.

* * *

It was a week later that we got back to the base in London. All of us had gratefully headed for showers and real food after giving our reports to Phillips. He hadn't liked it, particularly in the case of myself and Yori, but he agreed to let our team stay together, surprisingly enough. I think he was impressed by the amount of information we'd managed to recover.

The problem of the mutant experiments was troubling. Phillips had tasked Yori and me with looking for information on Klaus Schmidt at every HYDRA building we went to. He didn't have to order us - we would have done it anyway. Both of us wanted to find out about what was happening there. We wanted to find Klaus Schmidt for different reasons. I wanted to know what kind of person could do something like that to another human.

Yori wanted his head on a stick.

All of these thoughts swirled around my head as I lay in my bed. I couldn't sleep, not that I was terribly surprised by that fact. I hadn't expected to sleep well once I got back. The image of the HYDRA soldier I'd shot haunted me, and so did the corpses in the lab. They danced behind my eyes whenever I tried to shut them.

I closed my eyes determinedly, even felt myself start to doze off. Then the image of the HYDRA soldier, his gun shaking in his hand as his chest gushed blood, flashed behind my eyelids. I sat up with a frustrated snarl, shoving my sheets off of me. From the chair by my bed I grabbed my dressing gown and tugged it on, tying the sash around my waist with an annoyed yank.

I seized a bottle of bourbon and two glasses from the wardrobe and slid my feet into slippers, starting down the hall. I was halfway down before I realized I didn't really know where I was going. I considered heading to Bucky, but he had his own problems, his own nightmares to deal with. He may have asked me to be his girl, but I didn't take that as free reign to throw all of my burdens on him and wake him up from the first good night's sleep he'd had in two weeks just because I was having bad dreams.

Next I considered Yori. I doubted she'd be sleeping anyway and if anyone understood nightmares it was her. Even I wasn't clear on exactly what she'd done in the past, but I knew it was bloody and I knew it haunted her. But again, this was the first time she'd had access to a decent bed in two weeks. I felt a bit guilty and childish as I walked to her door and pressed my ear against it. I couldn't hear breathing. Yori wasn't even in. If I had to guess, she was probably down in the gym, taking out her frustrations on a training dummy.

The answer came to me – Howard. He was my usual drinking buddy and he was never judgmental – the way he behaved he didn't have room to be. Besides that, I figured he'd been sleeping in a bed and not in random barns and the back of a moving truck for the past two weeks. I didn't feel nearly as bad about interrupting his sleep.

I walked to Howard's door, knocking softly. I heard a rustling and a groan, then the sound of feet coming to the door.

"Who's 'er?" Howard slurred tiredly as he opened the door. He blinked in surprise as he saw me there in my slippers, holding a bottle. "Damn. This isn't a social call, is it?" I shook my head.

"Come in," Howard said, stepping aside and holding the door open. "I always drink at-" He glanced at the clock. It read a little before one in the morning. Howard winced. "Well, it's after five o'clock. We'll go with it."

I sat down at the table and Howard sat across from me. I poured him three fingers into a tumbler and slid it across the table to him before pouring myself the same. Howard took a sip and sighed.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this midnight rendezvous?" he asked. "I was always under the impression my flirting didn't work on you."

"I can't sleep," I replied bluntly. Howard frowned slightly and took another sip. He braced his elbow on the table, glass hanging from his fingertips, and pointed at me. "Correct me if I'm wrong, doll, but don't you have a certain blue-eyed soldier you could be drinking with?"

I shook my head. "My blue-eyed soldier has his own nightmares. Besides, he needs his sleep."

Howard was offended. "And I don't?"

"You haven't been napping in the back of a truck the past couple days," I countered, sipping on my liquor.

"Point taken," Howard allowed. "But I did pass out on a lab table a couple of times while you were gone."

I shrugged, completely unsympathetic. I'd done it myself a couple of times and I knew exactly what had happened. "You could have gone to bed but you didn't."

"Yeah, there is that," Howard grumbled. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass contemplatively and sighed. "Look Josie, I get not wanting to bother Barnes, I do. You're trying to be nice. But here's the thing…" Howard looked me dead in the eye, a rare seriousness coming over him. "If you were my girl, I'd want to know what was bothering you."

I stared at him. "How did you know Bucky asked me to be his girl?" I asked him in disbelief. "We've only been back a couple of hours!"

Howard reared back in surprise. "I didn't," he admitted, a grin stretching his face. "Thanks for telling me though, I'll be sure to congratulate him next time I see him. You know, when I mention you showed up tonight at my door in your nightie with a bottle of hooch."

I gave him a dark look. "Don't you dare."

Howard chuckled. "Come on Josie, even I'm not that mean. I do think you should talk to him, though."

I tapped the side of my glass with a finger. "Maybe," I admitted grudgingly.

Howard was right, as usual. If something was bothering me, Bucky would want to know. Bucky would also want to fix it, but he couldn't fix this one. He couldn't take the nightmares away or pull the images out of my brain. I wondered if he had the same problem – did visions of being strapped to a lab table haunt him at night? They must.

"So what's got you up so late?" Howard finally asked, settling back in his chair. "Wanna talk about it?"

I shrugged. "I killed men at the HYDRA base."

"Keyword there being HYDRA," Howard pointed out. I shook my head.

"I know they're the enemy, but they're still people. They were alive and now they're not and that's on me."

Howard shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Josie. This is a war. People die, and people kill each other. That's what war is. I could tell you the team wouldn't mind if you backed out, but I know you won't do that, right?" I shook my head. "Then I guess my advice is to think about it like this. Yeah, you took a life. But how many lives did you save by ending one?"

I paused, my drink hovering under my nose. Breathing in deeply, I caught the scent of the bourbon. I knew that killing war was acceptable – I even agreed with it. But it was hard to apply that when I was the one who was doing the killing. Howard was right though. If we hadn't taken out that base and everyone in it, what else might have come from it?

"You're surprisingly wise for a playboy," I said shrewdly. Howard smirked.

"It's part of my charm."

* * *

We had two weeks of leave while the SSR analyzed the information we'd brought back and gathered information on our next target. Next time we went out, we'd be going after another HYDRA base. It wouldn't take as long to get to as Czechoslovakia, but we would still be cutting it close if we wanted to make it to the Christmas party Howard had announced he was throwing in the bunker. Phillips hadn't exactly been thrilled about the idea, but Howard was notoriously good at spontaneous selective deafness, so Phillips was out of luck.

I was glad to be back. I spent some time with Howard in the lab analyzing the glowing blue things Steve and I had brought back from the HYDRA weapons factory. We'd figured out that it was some kind of energy, like a battery, but we had no idea what sort of energy it was operating on. It wasn't radioactive and it wasn't composed of anything either of us had ever seen.

When I wasn't in the lab, Yori and I were in the gym or the shooting range getting in practice for our next mission. Yori was slowly recovering, but she was still quieter than usual, a sadness lingering in the air around her wherever she went.

Yori and I had taken two punching bags and were whaling on them. My knuckles weren't taped, but Yori's were. Or at least, they were when she started. She'd been throwing hits so hard and so fast that now the wrappings trailed off her hands and arms in several places. I glanced sideways at her worriedly as she hit and kicked the punching bag with single-minded determination.

"How are you doing?" I asked her quietly. A normal person wouldn't have been able to hear over the sound of the punching bag rattling on its chains, but I knew Yori could.

"I'm alive," she replied bluntly. "I'm still fighting."

I took that as a good sign. She had responded and she hadn't lashed out. Yori was determined and had a goal.

"Good." I smiled at her and was rewarded with a slight upward quirk of her lips that made me hopeful again. To set off my feelings, I leaped up and brought by heel down and around in a devastating spinning kick. The punching bag snapped up, swinging almost completely horizontal before falling heavily back into place, swinging wildly.

"You're always impressing me."

I smiled as I heard Bucky approached behind me. His warm hands rested on my hips and he placed a kiss on the side of my jaw in greeting. I smiled, reaching up and back to cup his cheek as I happily inhaled his scent.

This was a new and wonderful part of my life. Bucky seemed unable to keep his hands off me, which was flattering. He wasn't grabby and he didn't cross lines, but he always found excuses to touch me – pushing back a couple loose strands of hair, trailing his fingers down my arm, greeting me with a peck on my cheek or my forehead. I basked in the attention, refusing to be ashamed even when Dugan and Morita gave us a hard time.

"Quit bragging!" Dugan called from the weights, where he and Steve were pushing themselves. He looked sideways at Steve as the man lifted several hundred pounds with ease and scowled in annoyance. "Show-off," he muttered under his breath.

Steve smiled apologetically. "Sorry, can't help it."

Bucky laughed softly as I spun around to face him. His blue eyes were twinkling at me as I looked up at him, amusement and affection shining down at me. I melted inside just a little bit, unable to resist the urge to go up on my toes and kiss his jaw, stubble tickling my lips.

"Here I was coming down to ask if you wanted a spar," Bucky said wryly, then glanced at the punching bag, which was still swaying slightly. "I'm starting to reconsider."

I blushed. "I'd be afraid of hurting you…" I admitted. Bucky winced. "Sorry."

"You're killin' my ego here, Josie," Bucky grimaced, placing a hand over his heart and feigning hurt. "I'm wounded."

"Your ego could take a few hits," Steve called as he moved to a heavier set of weights. He was out of his normal uniform, in a simple white t-shirt, the muscles of his arms gleaming with sweat and rippling. I was completely content with Bucky, thrilled even, but part of me couldn't contain a girlish squeal at the sight.

"No one asked you, punk!" Bucky called back. The words were harsh but the tone was anything but. I smiled slightly. I loved watching Bucky and Steve interact. Their friendship ran so deep, and it was heartwarming to see the pair of them joking and giving each other a hard time.

"Jerk," Steve countered.

"A spar's not a bad idea."

Everyone paused as Yori spoke aloud for the first time since she'd arrived. She stepped away from her punching bag.

"What do you say, taichō?" Yori continued, crossing her arms and nodding to the boxing ring. "Care to take me on?"

Steve was visibly hesitant. "I don't really think…"

Yori's head tilted. "Scared?" she challenged, her voice purposefully innocent.

Steve didn't rise to her bait. His eyes just flicked from her to me questioningly before finally fixing on me. I was the resident expert on Yori and her moods and she'd pretty much been left to me to deal with her grief. Steve didn't know if it was a good idea or not to spar with her.

I didn't either, really. On one hand, Yori was dangerous and didn't pull punches, but if there was anyone here who could take it besides me it would be Steve. There was a chance she could slip too far into the fight and get a little out of control. But maybe this was what she needed? A chance to just let loose and lay into something that could take her hits and fight back, just purge all her emotions in the age-old rhythm of combat.

I looked back at Steve and, equally uncertain, I nodded. Steve mirrored me, his eyes flicking back to Yori, whose face split into a wide smile, her eyes lighting with a familiar fire.

"Good," she purred, permanently blackened lips curving into a smirk. Her wings flared and spread and she flew herself over the ropes, dropping down lightly. Steve approached and climbed over the ropes with ease, entering the ring.

Bucky coiled his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest. He looked down at me questioningly. "Is this a good idea?" he asked me uncertainly. I shrugged.

"No idea," I admitted. "But I'm fairly confident Steve can handle her."

Bucky guided us over to a bench along one wall, close to the ring. He sat down and I seated myself next to him. Dugan, distracted from his own workout, sat down on Bucky's other side.

"This is gonna be good," he said grimly as Steve and Yori squared off.

Yori was in fine form, her wings spread, tail lifted, and an ominous smile on her face. She looked every bit like a formidable demon. Steve stood firm though and didn't flinch despite her appearance, raising his arms in a characteristic boxer's stance.

"An unstoppable force meets an immovable object," I murmured quietly.

Like my words had been the trigger, Yori threw herself at Steve. He sidestepped and tried to reach for her tail like he'd seen me do. It whipped out of his reach as Yori spun, bringing a fist towards Steve's head. He blocked her and she came at him in a flurry of kicks. Steve let himself be backed around the ring, using his arms and legs to catch and redirect or outright stop her attacks against him. The longer she steered him around, the more visibly annoyed Yori looked.

"Attack me!" she shouted at Steve angrily, spinning in a circle with one leg extended. Steve shook his head as he leaned back, out of range. Yori continued to spin and gave a leap. My eyes widened as I recognized the technique. Steve lowered an arm to block her leg aimed at his side. At the last second Yori tucked her leg in and instead battered his head and side with her wings, finishing with a strike across his shoulder with the flat of her tail. She landed a short distance away in a crouch with one leg extended.

"I can take a hit, Steve," she said shortly, straightening up and fixing him with a glare.

"I know," Steve admitted. "But I don't want to hurt you."

Yori laughed harshly. "You're making the assumption that you could!" She lunged again, swinging her fist towards his shoulder. Steve raised an arm to block. Yori seized his wrist and used it to swing herself up and around. She landed with her knees digging into the sway of his spine, her arms around his neck in a chokehold.

"Do you throw me or do I knock you out?" Yori challenged. "Your call!"

Steve reached behind himself, trying to grab a hold of her tail or a wing, but Yori kept her appendages tucked close. Steve staggered.

"She won't kill him, will she?" Bucky whispered to me, gripping my hand worriedly. I shook my head.

"She won't kill him," I assured Bucky, placing my hand over his own. "She _will_ knock him out though," I admitted.

Steve had apparently decided to start fighting. He reached over his shoulders and grabbed Yori around the neck and shoulders, ripping her over his head and slamming her down to the ground. Steve aimed to step on her chest, keeping her pinned, but Yori grabbed his ankle in her tail and yanked, pulling him into an unwilling split. I heard Dugan and Bucky wince in sympathy. Steve recovered quickly, getting to his knees and spinning to face her. Yori was already up, aiming to kick him across the jaw. Steve grabbed her ankle and yanked – harder than he meant to, going by the surprise on his face as Yori was ripped off her feet and flung into the ropes. She hung there for a moment, panting.

Steve slowly stood, eyes on her. "Sorry, Yori, I didn't mean to-"

Yori cut him off by bursting into full-throated laughter. All of us stared at her in surprise as she flipped herself around and sagged against the ropes, strands of hair hanging in her sweaty face. My eyes widened. Yori must have been really pushing herself if she was sweating and panting like that. Steve had given her a good workout.

"That's just what the doctor ordered!" Yori announced, rising up on her toes and raising her hands over her head, one hand wrapped around the other wrist. She gave a long, luxurious stretch and tossed Steve an appreciative smirk. "Well done, taichō. I may actually be sore."

Steve shook his head. "I'll get you some ice, I didn't intend to-"

Yori chuckled again. "Please, I know how hard you can hit. I knew what I was getting into. Don't feel bad. I just needed to hit something that hit back." Yori brought a foot up and took it in her palm, casually stretching it straight up over her head. The men's eyes widened in disbelief. I smiled. I'd seen Yori do that time and time again – she only did it when she was feeling particularly satisfied with a workout.

It was clear Yori was snapping out of her funk, I mused as she switched legs and dragged the other one up and over her head. Now if only I could do the same…


	31. Nightmares

Chapter 31: Nightmares

My inability to sleep hadn't gone away. I was normal during the day, but at night I'd taken to sitting up and trying to keep the images from turning into real, gut-churning nightmares. I had regenerative abilities, but even I was starting to feel the strain after a week without a good night's sleep.

In an attempt to stay awake I started wandering the halls of the residential part of the SSR headquarters. I was passing Jones's rooms – the man snored like a chainsaw – when I heard soft moans and the sound of box springs creaking. For a moment I blushed – the secretaries had been _very_ welcoming to the men of the Howling Commandos since we got back. But then I heard the moans again. They weren't pleasured, they were fearful. Someone was having nightmares.

I followed my ears and the smell of sweat down the hallway, my heart sinking when I smelled storms. The sounds led me to Bucky's door. I stood for a moment, debating. Would he want me to see him like this? I knew I didn't want him to see me tormented by nightmares. Maybe I should just knock on the door to wake him up and leave…

The sound of ripping fabric decided it for me. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The light coming through the curtained window was dim, but I could see the outline of a bed and the writhing figure of Bucky on it. I quickly hurried to the side of his bed, crouching down and stretching out a hand.

"Bucky? Bucky!" I shook his shoulder. "Bucky, wake up!"

With a whine and a pained grunt he drew away from me, rolling to the other side of the bed and flailing one hand at me wildly. I winced as I realized whatever he was dreaming, someone was hurting him. He was trying to get away from them.

Images of the HYDRA lab we'd found him in danced behind my eyes and chased away any hesitancy I might have had as I crawled onto his bed and sat beside him, reaching out to grab his face between my hands.

"Bucky, Bucky wake up, everything's okay, you're safe," I murmured. "You're safe now, you're home!"

With a loud gasp Bucky's eyes shot open, darting wildly around. He lunged upward, throwing my hands off of him. I gasped as his hands closed around my throat and he bore me back to the bed under his weight. A slash of moonlight illuminated his face, showing the mindless, half-asleep anger written there.

I wheezed, trying to get air as I tugged at his fingers. "Bucky, it's me! Bucky, it's Belle, please!" I croaked.

"B… B-Belle?" I could watch the anger fade into confusion as his eyes became more alert, finally morphing into horror as he ripped his hands away from my throat and scrambled away from me, pressing himself up against the headboard. "Oh… oh god," he said thickly, licking his lips.

I sat up slowly, one hand covering my throat. "Bucky?" I said uncertainly, making sure he was back with me.

Bucky was pale, guilt and self-disgust crawling across his face as he looked down at his hands, then back up at my throat. "Oh god Belle, I'm so sorry," he breathed, his eyes beseeching me. "I'd _never_ … I didn't mean…"

"Shh, shh," I cooed to him, crawling across the mattress until I knelt in front of him. I reached out, flicking on the lamp on the bedside table. The bulb burst to light, illuminating the sweat-sodden, twisted sheets and the stuffing pouring out of a torn pillow. I winced as I looked back over my shoulder at Bucky. His horrified and apologetic expression bore into me.

"Oh no, don't look like that," I begged, sitting back onto my heels and stretching out to grab his hands. He was hesitant as I pulled them towards me. I brought both of them to my lips, pressing a kiss to the knuckles. I looked at him from over the backs of his hands. "You're breakin' my heart," I said affectionately, repeating him.

"I h- _hurt_ you-" Bucky couldn't seem to get past that fact. He was staring at his hands like they'd just betrayed him. "I was trying to _kill_ you-"

"I shouldn't have woken you up," I scolded myself. "I should have known better, people coming out of night terrors are known to lash out."

"No, Belle-" Bucky leaned forward, his face offering reassurance that it wasn't my fault.

"I'm fine," I promised him, releasing his hands and tilting my head sideways so that he could see my throat. "See? It's not even red," I chirped, smiling at him happily. Bucky's eyes wouldn't leave my throat though, a slightly haunted expression there like he could still see himself choking the life out of me.

"What did I say before I joined the team, huh?" I said, leaning forward and grabbing his chin between my thumb and the side of my pointer finger. "Nothing can hurt me."

Bucky pulled his face out of my fingers and for a moment I was worried that this was it, he was going to draw away – and wouldn't it just be such a twist if he left because he was scared of himself and not me? My stomach dropped at the very idea and my heart throbbed. I was startled by how much the idea of losing Bucky _ached_ inside.

Technically, I'd known him for about two years. But we'd only really been around each other… what, six months? The rest of that acquaintance was from letters that took weeks to arrive. By all rights we should be acquaintances, friendly at best. But here I was, sitting on his bed getting my heart broken because he didn't want me to touch him.

When had Bucky Barnes wormed his way so far into my heart?

All my worries were for nothing though. Bucky shifted and leaned forward. The smell of storms and the warmth of his breath washed over my face as he placed a soft, loving kiss on the side of my throat.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear. I nodded, not trusting myself to be able to speak without my voice shaking. Bucky leaned back, sagging wearily against the headboard and rubbing a hand over his sweat-soaked face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked uncertainly. Bucky shook his head, his face still concealed behind his hand. He let out a shaky breath. I bit my lip. "I still see their faces." Bucky didn't move his hand, but I could tell by the slight stiffening in my shoulders. "I can still see the faces of those people like me on the lab table. And I can see the face of this HYDRA man I killed. His eyes are wide and dead and they're just…" I swallowed, wrapping my arms around myself. "Just looking at me, like… like he's saying 'you did this.'" I shook my head, clearing the image away, and continued. "I haven't slept more than a handful of hours in the whole time we've been back."

Bucky had removed his hand from his face in the time I'd been talking, looking at me with this sympathetic expression like he'd do anything to take some of my pain away. I imagined my face looked much the same, because that's how I felt at that moment. I'd go out and kill a hundred HYDRA men, nightmares or not, if it meant Bucky didn't have them.

"Belle," Bucky said softly. "You shouldn't… you shouldn't feel guilty. This is a war, it's… it's not wrong, it's just… You can't…"

"I know," I insisted, scooting my knees a little closer, reaching out and grabbing his hands again. "I know that, I do, but it doesn't keep the dreams away, does it?" I gave him a small, shy, understanding smile, biting the side of my lip. "They get to me too. They get to Yori – she's tried to choke me for waking her up more times than I can count." I chuckled slightly. "I imagine they get to Steve and Dum Dum and Morita and Limey and all of the other soldiers out there doing what they've got to, Allied or not. It's _nothing to be ashamed of,"_ I said vehemently.

Bucky smiled at me faintly. "You should be a writer or something, Belle."

My eyes widened at the sudden subject change. "I should… what?"

Bucky's smile got a little bright, a little stronger, as he explained, "You've got this way with words. It's like you know exactly what someone needs to hear and just how to say it."

I smiled shyly again. Bucky's smile returned full force, his eyes looking at me with such fondness and love I felt self-conscious.

"I love that shy little smile of yours," Bucky whispered, reaching out and cupping my chin like I had his. "You look so damn cute…"

I grinned at him brightly. Bucky smiled back.

"And that face, the one you make when your nose crinkles up and your cheeks lift and your eyes get all sparkly… I love that one too."

My breath caught in my throat. I'd read all kinds of stories about romance in my day. Gothic stories like the Phantom of the Opera or Jane Austen's books. I'd read Shakespeare's tragic love stories and the words had always made me go starry-eyed and sigh aloud as I tried to imagine what it would be like to have a love like in my books.

Somewhere along the way I'd stumbled my way into something even better. Something that wasn't flowery for the sake of being flowery. It was genuine and sweet and everything I could ever want. I couldn't imagine there ever being a man like Bucky in my life, but there he sat, right in front of me, looking at me with those gorgeous blue eyes of his like he was staring at the Mona Lisa on top of the Crown Jewels, sitting in front of the prettiest sunset there ever was.

"You know what I love?" I asked quietly, the words spilling out of my mouth before I'd even really considered them. Bucky waited as I licked my lips, mentally preparing myself to continue. I'd never said things like this before.

I picked up his right hand and pressed it to my cheek, holding it there and closing my eyes, nuzzling into his palm. His scent danced around me, bolstering my courage. "I love the calluses on your hands. I love how I can feel how strong you are, how hard you've worked whenever you touch me, even though you're always so gentle."

I was bright red, and part of me wanted to flee. My heart was racing and my throat felt tight with emotion as I dropped his hand and leaned forwards to whisper in his ear. "I love how you listen, really listen, when I talk. You don't tune me out or tell me to go away." Shyly, I placed a kiss just in front of his ear.

"God Belle," Bucky said huskily. "Like I said, you always know what to say." His arms wrapped around me, drawing me to his chest. I curled there willingly, draping my legs across his lap and letting my nose drift along his neck, taking long, soothing breaths. I glanced up, my eyes lingering on the dark bruises around Bucky's eyes.

"You need sleep," I chided gently, cupping his face between my palms and stroking my thumbs under the bags. "Lie down and rest, now." I leaned up and kissed his forehead.

"Stay with me?" Bucky looked down at me, a slight pout pulling on his lower lip. I hesitated for a moment. Lying in a stall in an abandoned barn was one thing, but lying in a bed together felt so much more… intimate, somehow.

I didn't want to abandon him to the nightmares though, so I nodded gently. Bucky slid down, dragging me with him. I pulled my legs off of him so that I lay stretched out beside him. Bucky wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly to him like he always did, letting my head rest on his shoulder. I sighed in contentment and wrapped an arm around his waist, blushing at the feeling of warm, bare skin under the sensitive flesh of my inner forearm.

"Goodnight," I whispered shyly.

"Pleasant dreams," Bucky wished me back. I could hear the smile in his voice. I smiled too, tilting my head slightly and placing a soft kiss on his shoulder. I pulled him closer, all thoughts of impropriety banished as he laid a kiss on my forehead, just like he always did.

I lay there, basking in his scent around me as the darkness closed around me and I fell into a dreamless sleep for the first time in days.

* * *

When I woke up I was at first conscious of the warmth pressed against my front. My eyelids fluttered. I opened them, the scene around me coming into focus. Bucky's arms were wrapped around me tightly, cradling me against his side. Somehow in the night my right leg had draped over his, slotting my hips against his right one. My right arm was draped across his stomach, my hand resting in the middle of his chest. I could feel his heart beating under my palms under a light furring of hair.

I had always woken up first in the barn, needing less sleep. Then I'd been able to sneak away, hay poking me in the back and side and the cold numbing my toes. Now I was warm and comfortable and even though my cheeks were warm and my heart was racing I didn't want to leave the sheets.

Without even thinking my thumb began making light strokes across Bucky's skin. I tilted my head back and kissed the nearest bit of his face I could – the underside of his jaw. Bucky's lips lightly parted and he made a sleepy but satisfied sound that made me smile slightly. His eyes fluttered open revealing that gorgeous blue I could drown in and Bucky smiled down at me blearily. I dipped my head shyly and hid my answering smile in his shoulder.

"Morning," he husked, voice sending shivers down my spine.

"Mornin'," I replied shyly.

"So I wasn't dreaming," Bucky said with a lazy smirk. "I thought I was… too good be true, getting to wake up to my Belle."

My cheeks went even redder. "Your Belle," I replied. It was more than a repetition, it was confirmation, acceptance. I was Bucky's Belle and I couldn't be happier about it.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're the most amazing woman?" Bucky asked affectionately.

"Not 'ntil ya," I said, smiling and leaning up, aiming for another kiss on his jaw. Bucky tilted his head and caught my lips with his. I hummed contently and let him lazily kiss me, basking in the attention as our lips slowly dragged against each other. This was without a doubt the best morning I'd had in months, maybe ever.

Blushing as I remembered some of the things I'd heard the girls back home giggling and whispering about in corners, I let my tongue dart out hesitantly, sliding against the crease of Bucky's lips. He made a small, pleased noise and his hand slid from my back up into my hair, fisting there. It was not enough to hurt, just enough that I could _feel_ it, and a shudder went down my spine. My leg tightened around his slightly and Bucky shifted onto his side so that he could kiss me more deeply.

His tongue slid into my mouth and I made a sound of surprise. I'd always thought it sounded so strange, but there was something exciting about the feeling of his tongue sliding against mine. Still thrilling slightly and the feeling of his hands in my hair I let my own trail from his chest around his side and up his back until my fingers knotted in his short, black hair.

Bucky let out a moan and shifted again, rolling so that he was hovering half over me, pressing my back to the mattress. I stiffened slightly. This was more intimate than we'd ever been and while I loved every minute of it I was hesitant, uncertain. Bucky was infinitely more experienced than I was. He'd probably done all this and more but I was new to it. I wanted to savor every new discovery, every sound he made and every one he drew from me, taking my time. I didn't want to dive into anything I might regret. I couldn't imagine regretting a moment with Bucky even now, but the future was always uncertain, you could never-

"O-oh!" A shaky moan left me as Bucky's tongue stroked behind my teeth. Bucky pulled back slightly, our lips parting. I hadn't realized it, but I was panting gently and so was he. He was so close, blue eyes dark and pupils dilated as he stared down at me. I was no fool, I knew what that look meant, and I imagined I probably looked much the same.

"We are gonna need to stop now," Bucky said quietly, closing his eyes regretfully. "Because if you make that sound again I'm not going to be able to."

I flushed, embarrassed. "S-Sorry."

"Don't be," Bucky assured me, reaching down and planting a soft, brief kiss on my lips, much more chaste than our kisses had been a moment ago. I melted back into the bed, letting my hand fall from his hair to the pillow beside me. Bucky leaned forwards, his stubbled cheek brushing my own.

"It was damn sexy," Bucky growled in my ear. I blushed deeper than I think I ever had in my life as Bucky pulled back and stared down at me smugly.

"Bucky Barnes," I said sternly, fighting off a breathless tremble in my voice. "You keep on sayin' things like that 'n I-"

Bucky raised an eyebrow leadingly. "You'll what? I may like where this is going…"

I pouted. "I dunno what I'll do, but it'll be somethin'…"

Bucky smiled brightly at me. "Your accent's thicker in the morning."

I groaned, covering my face in embarrassment. "I know," I moaned. "I gotta wake up a li'l, 'n then…"

Bucky was chuckling as he rolled off of me, landing on his back next to me and flinging an arm up over his head. His head lolled to the side lazily.

"Don't wake up," Bucky suggested. "I like your accent."

I shook my head. "Naw, you don'," I disagreed. "Makes me soun' uneducated…"

"Makes you sound sweet as a slice of apple pie," Bucky countered. My stomach rumbled and I would have been much more embarrassed if Bucky's hadn't growled right along with me. The pair of us locked eyes land laughed, any awkwardness or residual heat fading into a warm, affectionate comfortableness. It was wonderful.

"Shall we get dressed and head for breakfast?" Bucky offered. "I'll take you out," he wheedled.

"Sergeant Barnes, 're you askin' me out?" I asked coyly, rolling onto my side and pulling the covers up to my chin.

"I told you I wanted to do this right," Bucky reminded me earnestly. "Dinner and dancing and movies and everything you deserve. We, uh… I think we skipped a couple of steps," he said sheepishly, glancing at the bed and the room at large. "But I still want to take you out and learn everything I can about you."

"I'd like ta learn more aboucha," I agreed, smiling softly.

"You know, I've already learned something new about you," Bucky said proudly.

"And what's 'at?" I asked, laughing.

"You're like one of those dreamcatchers, Belle," Bucky said, eyes burning intently as he stared at me. "With you here I didn't have a single bad dream."

I smiled at him affectionately. "I didn't either."

"Maybe we should make this a habit," Bucky said wryly. "Can't have us falling down on the job, can we?"

"I could do that," I blurted out without thought. Bucky looked down at me, surprised. His cheeks were even a little pink. I think this was the first time I'd ever managed to make him blush.

But I couldn't help but think how wonderful it was to wake up wrapped in someone's arms, to look up and see Bucky's face over me. I loved this warm, lazy environment that came with starting my morning with Bucky. Propriety be damned – we were at war, Bucky kept the nightmares away, and any mission we went out on could be our last. Now that I had him I wanted every moment I could have with Bucky. I didn't want to miss a moment of him in my life.

"Just sleepin'," I said hastily. "But I… I didn' have nightmares," I admitted, looking around shyly. "And I like… this. Wakin' up with ya. It's nice."

Bucky was staring at me blankly, like he'd never seen me before. I gave a small, worried squeak and pulled the covers up even higher, ducking my head under them.

"Forget I said anythin'," I begged. "Stop _lookin_ ' at me like 'at!"

"Belle?" Bucky's hands wrapped around mine, trying to tug them down. "Belle!" His voice was laughing as he shook my hands gently. "Come on, doll, come out!"

I peeked out from the covers shyly. "Yeah?"

"You know how last night I said you have a talent for saying the right thing?" Bucky recalled. I nodded, not sure where he was going with this. Bucky leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose sweetly. "You just did it again."


	32. Second Night

Chapter 32: Second Night

True to his word, Bucky and I had climbed out of bed and I'd hustled off to my room to dress for the day in a little mint green dress that Peggy had once said brought out my eyes. We'd met in the hall and he took me down the street to a little diner. We ate and laughed and talked like we were a normal couple and there wasn't a war on.

And now I was standing outside of Bucky's door not quite sure what to do, dressed in an ivory silk nightgown, matching robe tied tightly around my waist and slippers on my feet. I fingered the collar of my robe, not quite sure what to do. Sleeping next to Bucky was like a balm for my nightmares and waking up next to him was even better but there was propriety to think of, and what if he thought I was silly for dressing up like I did just to go to bed, a secret, silly little rich-girl habit I'd always had?

I gripped my collar tightly and made up my mind. The world was mad anyway, who cared what some gossiping soldiers said? Bucky and I knew what was going on between us and we'd do whatever we felt like doing. If we wanted to sleep in the same bed, we would. If we wanted to do more, we would.

My cheeks burned at that thought and before I could lose my nerve I reached up and knocked on the door.

"Coming," Bucky called from the other side of the door. He pulled it open. I blinked. Last night the lamplight had been dim and there had been other things on my mind, but now the overhead lights were on and there were no night terrors or torn pillows to distract me from taking a nice, long look at Bucky's sculpted chest.

"Belle?" The faint surprise in Bucky's voice was enough to pull me away.

"You mentioned repeating last night," I said uncertainly, probing his surprised expression. I bit my lip uncertainly. Had that been a joke? Had I misunderstood? "I didn't… I'll go," I said, turning on my heel.

"No, wait." Bucky caught my arm to keep me from going. "I'm glad you came, to be honest. I just wasn't sure you would," he admitted with a sheepish shrug. "I mean, Steve's the only family I've really got but you've got a public name to worry about. I wasn't sure…"

I chuckled softly. "You and I know what's going on here. It's no one else's business," I said, pulling his hand from my arm and grasping it in mine, squeezing fondly. I looked up at him shyly and asked, "Keep my nightmares away?"

"Every night you'll let me," Bucky promised, and held the door open for me to walk inside. I did, turning when I heard him chuckling as he shut the door.

"What?" I asked, my lips quirking up at the amused glint in his eyes. "What's funny?"

"You ever let your hair down?" Bucky asked dryly, gesturing to the bun low on the back of my head. My hand flew up to cup my hair self-consciously.

"It's easier to brush in the morning if I keep it up," I explained with a shrug.

"I've never seen your hair down," Bucky said, shooting me puppy dog eyes. I frowned at him, but there was no real anger in the expression.

"Bucky, stop that," I scolded. If anything, the eyes got more intense. I groaned and reached up to my hair. Bucky grabbed my arms to stop me.

"Do you want to see or not?" I asked teasingly.

"I want to do it," Bucky said, sounding like a child begging for a toy as he sat me down on the edge of the bed. He crawled up and kneeled behind me, picking gently through my hair for bobby pins. He pulled them out gently, careful not to rip my hair. Of anything about my appearance, my hair was what I paid the least attention to. I normally just threw it up in a bun to keep it out of the way and went. Now I savored the attention as the pile of bobby pins on Bucky's night table grew.

"How many are in here?" he demanded in exasperation as Bucky pulled out his eighth bobby pin and my bun only just started to unravel a bit. I chuckled.

"I have a lot of hair and it's very fine. It takes quite a bit to get it to stay up all day," I explained. I reached back to help him with the pins and got my hand smacked for my trouble.

"I'm having fun," Bucky chided. "It's like one of those pictures where you've got to find all the hidden things."

I laughed at that and let Bucky keep pulling pins until my hair finally all fell down my back to brush against the sheets.

"It's so long," Bucky said in fascination, carding his fingers through the strands. I smiled and hummed happily as the gentle brushing sent warm little tremors through me. "And so soft," he continued, seemingly fascinated by the strands of brown. "And I'd never realized how many colors are in your hair. There's red and gold and copper..."

I smiled, turning around to kneel on the bed. Bucky scooted back to make room for me, pouting at me until I pulled my hair over my shoulder for him to keep playing with.

"Having fun?" I asked wryly as he kept tangling and untangling his fingers in my hair. I'd never seen him look so childlike.

"What would I have to do to get your wear down like this?" Bucky asked. I raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

"What, you like it down?"

"Mhm." Bucky nodded. He reached forwards, tugging some hair over my left shoulder and some over my right to frame my face, letting the rest fall down my back. His eyes flicked up and he started laughing, pointing to just above my left eyebrow. "You have one curl!" he said delightedly, reaching up and gently tugging on what was indeed the one curl I had, a bit of hair that liked to curve down onto my forehead when I was particularly frazzled and frustrated me to no end.

I huffed and pushed the curl back. Bucky chucked me under the chin and urged, "Come on, name your price?"

I bit my lip and pretended to think it over. "Well let's see, what can I get for it?" I mused teasingly. "Doing my laundry? Mending my clothes after a mission?"

"Teach me to sew and we'll talk," Bucky said bluntly. I chuckled.

"How about this," I offered, reaching out and catching Bucky's hands in my own, pressing them together between mine and curiously examining the size difference. "Whenever I wear my hair down, you've got to give me a kiss. That sound fair?"

"Gladly," Bucky said, and leaned forward, pecking my lips. He pulled back and groaned, his eyes on the alarm clock by the pile of bobby pins. "It's getting late. You ready to sleep?"

I nodded and Bucky got up to flick off the lights while I crawled under the sheets. He joined me a moment later and I leaned over to turn off the lamp by his bed, plunging us into darkness.

Suddenly it was incredibly awkward. I was still wearing my robe, with the belt pinching my side uncomfortably. I was lying on my back with my hands folded on my stomach. My hair was being tugged slightly and my elbow was just barely brushing Bucky's. Last night we'd ended up cuddled together first for comfort and then unknowingly. Now, I suddenly felt too shy to get comfortable, to drape myself over Bucky like I had the night before.

I huffed at that.

"What's wrong?" Bucky asked. I turned my head to look at him.

"You're on the wrong side," I said decisively. I sat up in bed. Bucky reached up to place a hand on my back.

"What? What are you doing?"

I didn't answer, just awkwardly tugged my robe off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. I clambered over Bucky and flopped down shamelessly, draping one of my legs over his and cuddling my face into his chest, throwing an arm over his stomach.

"I always sleep on my right side," I explained. "I'm getting comfy."

Bucky laughed and turned to face me. "Conveniently enough," he whispered, nose brushing mine in the darkness, "I sleep on my left most nights."

I hummed in response and leaned forward just a little to kiss him gently on the lips. "Goodnight," I whispered.

"Goodnight," Bucky replied.

Wrapped safely in Bucky's arms, I drifted off.

* * *

 _I couldn't move. I could only spin in a slow circle, staring in horror at the spectacle around me. There was Yori, stuck to a board like a butterfly in a collection, her wings held out to the side with giant pins and her tail impaled with another one. Her eyes were wide open and glassy as she slumped bonelessly, more pins through her hands and feet keeping her upright and a dribble of dark blood running from her mouth._

 _As I rotated I saw more horrors. There was Morita with his chest cut open. Jones with his organs spread out around him. Dernier with his skin peeled back to expose the muscle beneath. The top of Dum Dum's head had been cut away, his bowler hat perched morbidly over his exposed brain. Howard's throat slowly oozed blood from a slit and Peggy's limbs and head had been cut from her torso. Falsworth's bones all seemed to be broken. There was Steve with brands in the shape of the star from his shield all over him, raised and red and blistered. Most horrifying there was Bucky, his gorgeous blue eyes gouged out of his head and resting in a jar by his feet._

 _I screamed as I finished my spin and saw Schmidt standing there with the Red Skull revealed._

" _Do you like my experiments?"_

I shot upright with a scream, staring into the darkness. I clutched my arms and shuddered as sobs ripped from my chest, tears flowing down my cheeks helplessly.

"Belle? What happened?" The lamp flicked on and then Bucky was there, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me securely against his side. I continued to sob and shudder as he pulled me closer, rocking me gently and whispering in my ear.

"It's okay, it's okay. It was just a dream Belle, just a dream," he murmured, kissing the top of my head and stroking his fingers through my hair comfortingly.

"It was h-horrible," I sobbed. "All of you… The Commandoes, Steve, Howard, Peggy. _Y-You_. The Red Skull had torn you all open."

"That'll never happen," Bucky promised me. "We'll be fine. If anything happened to one of us the rest would move heaven and earth to get them back."

"I-I know," I nodded weakly, taking deep breaths to get myself under control. Bucky pulled back, cupping my face in his palms. He leaned forwards and kissed my cheeks, kissed the tears away. When he was done he pressed a chaste kiss to my lips before pulling me back down onto the mattress.

"We're all safe here," Bucky promised. "We're all hidden away." He dragged the covers up and over our heads, dragging me closer so that our chests pressed together. I laid a hand on the side of his throat, breathing in the scent of him deeply and reveling in the affection. "No one's gonna find us, you got me Belle?" he said fiercely. "We're safe here."

Somehow, I believed him. "We're safe," I replied with a weak smile. "And you're wonderful," I added gratefully, pecking him on the nose. I felt him smiling as he guided my head to lean against his shoulder.

"Gotta keep you smiling," Bucky whispered. "Cuz you keep me smiling, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart," I chuckled. "I like that."

"Then I'll call you that every day," Bucky promised.

"No," I disagreed, smiling teasingly. "Josie, for everyday. Sweetheart is only for when we're alone. Hmm… honey for holidays. And Belle only on very special occasions. And will you call me when you're upset?" I mused.

I felt a kiss on my forehead. "Never gonna happen, love," Bucky promised, then laughed. "Oh, when can I call you love?"

I smiled and leaned up, kissing him gently and whispering against his mouth, "You can call me love only when you are completely and totally content."

Bucky kissed me. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

The next morning I was woken up by the feeling of fingers lazily tracing my skin. I remained loose, fighting the urge to smile. I knew exactly who it was; I could smell the scent of storms. But I also didn't want him to stop. He traced what I realized was his name on my shoulder before trailing the backs of his fingers up and down my throat a few times. Then he reached up and dragged the side of a finger across my cheekbone. A fingertip trailed along my jaw and traced across my lips.

As Bucky's finger paused in the middle of my bottom lip I smiled. "I could get used to waking up like this."

Bucky smiled and kissed my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder and met him in a kiss before rolling onto my back so that I could see him without straining.

"Good morning, darling," I said, reaching up to cup his jaw and rub my thumb across his stubbled jaw affectionately.

"Morning love," Bucky replied, covering my hand in his. "Are you feeling better this morning?"

My nightmare was only a faint memory, wrapped up in sheets and Bucky and love. "Perfect," I assured him.

"Mm. Me too."


	33. Death

Chapter 33: Death

Yori and I were the overhead team. I, being lighter than any of the men, was flown in Yori's arms to the roof of the HYDRA facility we were raiding. Yori dropped me down and swung into a brutal kick, snapping a man's neck. I forced bones from my palms and spun, driving them into the chest of two men on either side of me. I pulled free and gasped as bullets riddled my torso.

"Watch out!" Yori cautioned as she swooped past like a bat from hell and barraged one soldier with buffets from her wings. He raised his gun and found himself holding nothing but the stock as Yori's whip sheered the barrel off. She smirked and kicked him back over the edge of the building.

Steve and the men were handling the inside. We'd been told we had roughly ten minutes while they fought their way in, set the charges, and scrambled for cover. This was a small base, a stopover really, but all of HYDRA had to go, even the tiniest parts of it.

"It's! Too! Cold! _Damn it!_ " Yori shrieked as she snapped her whip furiously, cutting a man to bits and pieces.

I laughed as I raised my hands and fired my finger bones like bullets in a wide spray around me. Three men dropped, clutching wounds. I leaped over an attempted tackle from one of the men and kicked him in the back, sending him flying over the edge of the roof with a scream.

"Well done!" Yori congratulated as she heaved one man into the air with her tail around his throat. There was a crunch as his throat was crushed and she dropped him back down to suffocate to death.

I swung into a kick, a bone protruding from my knee. It stabbed into the side of a soldier and punctured a lung. He wheezed and dropped his weapon. I snatched it from the air and sprayed bullets across the roof, balanced on one leg. I shook the man free and set down my foot as he fell to the ground.

Yori dove from the sky, hands outstretched in claws, shrieking as she displayed her teeth. She seized a man by the shoulders and shoved him over the railing to fall to the ground four stories below. Smirking, Yori alighted gently on the rooftop next to me and brushed her hands together.

"That was fun," she said brightly.

"That was melodramatic," I accused. Yori gave me a dark look.

"I'm your ride out of here, so you might want to be nice to me."

" _Heil HYDRA!"_

I shouted in surprise as a man lunged from behind an AC unit and tackled me. I felt the railing behind my knees and shrieked as I went over the edge, the mask of a HYDRA soldier looming in front of me. Furious, I stabbed a bone through his neck and shoved him off, bracing for the inevitable impact. This would hurt, I had no doubt.

But surprisingly, the moment my skull was crushed against the ground, I felt absolutely nothing.

* * *

"Let's go!" Steve shouted as Dernier set the last charge next to a supply of gunpowder. The pyromaniacal Frenchman cackled as he and the Howling Commandoes followed Steve's order. From different points of the building they sprinted towards Steve and the door, their charges set, their jobs done.

The blasts from Dugan's shotgun and spray of bullets from Jones's gun covered their exit as they made for the large truck waiting for them not far from the entrance.

"Fire in the hole!" Dugan cried and yanked the pin from one of his seemingly endless supplies of grenades with his teeth. He hurled it towards the store of gunpowder as the men threw themselves into the truck, Morita and Falsworth in the cab and the rest of them in the back.

"What about the girls?" Falsworth called back.

"They'll fly to us, let's go!" Dugan shouted back, urging him on as the remaining HYDRA soldiers poured from the building, guns raised. "Before we're all Swiss cheese!"

Falsworth slammed the truck into gear and they spun tires for a moment before peeling off towards the trees. Bullets drilled into the ground behind them in bursts of dirt but they escaped unscathed as the factory exploded into flames and debris behind them, the shockwave ripping at the tarp around the truck bed.

"I don't see them!" Bucky said, eyes wide with worry as he kept his eyes trained on the sky for the bat-like figure that would be Yori holding Josie. He felt like he couldn't breathe – if he'd just blown up a building with Josie on it… oh god…

Bucky felt sick as he desperately scanned the sky. It was only because he was so keyed up that he reacted in time as a winged figure burst from between the trees and flung itself into the cab, a limp body in its arms.

Yori groaned as she skidded past shoes along the truck bed and flipped inadvertently, landing with her rear and legs in the air and her back curved awkwardly against the back of the cab.

No one witnessed her moment of indignity because of the body that had fallen from her arms. Josie lay in the truck bed, eyes staring sightlessly. Her neck was bent at a sickeningly unnatural angle. Huge rosettes covered her entire torso. Worse, the back of her head was bashed in, blood and brains leaking onto the truck bed.

Bucky's heart was breaking, there were tears in his eyes, and he'd never felt grief like this in his life as he stared at Josie's body on the truck bed. He slid off the bench and dropped to his knees next to her.

"N-no…" he said weakly, reaching out to her with shaking hands. "Sh-She said… said she couldn't… be hurt."

"Well that's bullshit." Yori growled as she righted herself. She swatted at Bucky irritably. "Of course she can be hurt, the difference is that it doesn't stick."

"Yori!" Steve hissed at her in disbelief, his own throat choked with emotion. "Your friend is _dead!"_

"I know," Yori said shortly, glaring at him. "It's not like this is a new thing for her."

" _Wha-?"_

Yori rolled her eyes and reached out, gripping the sides of Josie's head and brutally yanking her neck back into place with a horrible grinding, clicking crunch. Josie's eyelids fell shut as she was turned to look at the roof of the truck.

"Come on," Yori said irritably, prodding at Josie's shoulder. "Don't make me hit you, woman. Don't make me wait… Fine, you asked for it!" And she slapped Josie across the face.

"Hey!" Dugan lunged forward and grabbed Yori by the shoulders, wrenching her away from Josie's body. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"She's being difficult!" Yori shrieked angrily. "Get off me, you big lunk!"

And then Josie shot up with a gasp.

* * *

I came back to myself and it was as jarring as always, coming back to my body after I died. I sat up sharply and peered around, adrenaline pounding through me as sweat struck stray strands of hair to my face. I could see Steve looking pale as milk. Bucky was sitting next to me with a horrified, grief-stricken look on his face and tears in his eyes. And Dugan…

"Why are you holding Yori like that?" I asked in confusion. "Let her go before she hurts you."

Dugan's arms dropped away weakly and Yori scrambled free, huffing as she righted her shirt.

"Thank you," she said primly as she sat down and crossed her legs. She looked at me pointedly. "You gave them quite a scare, Tora."

"I-I thought…" I whipped around, the sound so jarring because I'd never heard Bucky sound like that before. It was like his heart had been ripped out and smashed. He was staring at me, the grief on his face rapidly replaced by breath-taking relief. He lunged, dragging me into his arms desperately.

"I thought you were gone!" he said, clutching me to him fiercely. His fingers dug deeply into my hair, the grip so tight it pulled and almost hurt, but that was nothing compared to the usual wash of comfort and warmth being in his arms brought to me.

"Oh," I smiled faintly and reached up to cup the back of his head, wrapping my other arm around him in return. "No. Well I mean I was, but I came back." I pulled back and assured him. "I always do."

" _Merde."_

"You said it."

I looked around to see Jones and Dernier sitting there staring at me in disbelief. By their feet was a small puddle of blood with what looked like chunks of brain and bone in it. I wrinkled my nose.

"Is that mine?" I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and swiped it all up, tossing the blood-stained bundle out the back of the truck. "Ew."

Steve gave a shaky exhale and leaned back, looking exhausted. "You should have seen Bucky when Yori dropped you in here. Never seen him so broken up."

Bucky glared but there was no heat in it. "I thought she was _dead_ , punk."

"Jerk."

"I thought Steve was going to kill Yori when she hit you," Jones admitted.

I turned to Yori, offended. "You hit me?"

She shrugged shamelessly. "You were taking too long."

I scowled. "Excuse me if I wasn't regrowing my brain fast enough for you."

"You see?" Yori gestured to me, glaring at Dugan and Steve. "Next time I try to wake her up, don't give me grief, alright?"

The mood in the truck quickly changed as the shock wore off and was replaced with humor. Jokes were made about who had the most horrified expression and Yori began to elucidate the multiple ways she'd seen me die – of which there were many, I'd gone through a phase where I somewhat unwisely began to test my limits – and Steve and Dugan apologized to Yori.

I observed all of this with only half of my attention. The other half was on Bucky, who'd pulled me into his lap and held me against him firmly, his grip never once slackening as he clutched me like a lifeline. Everyone in the truck kindly pretended not to notice as I carded my fingers through his hair and whispered to him.

"I'll come back. I'll always come back," I murmured against his hair, kissing his temple. Bucky twisted his face around to kiss my cheek, my nose, and my forehead in quick succession.

"Promise me, Belle," he said throatily.

"Only if you promise the same," I breathed, cupping his cheek. He nodded, burying his face in my neck, and I smiled, crossing my legs and holding his head against my shoulder contently.

* * *

The mood was somber as we surrounded our next target. This one had been named in the papers collected from the impromptu lab. It was a small clinic that had been established at a crossroad among several farming communities. The building was long and low, only two stories tall. The surrounding communities had been evacuated after the German's push into France, and that meant that the clinic had been abandoned too.

"This is the place," Steve said. The Howling Commandos were hunkered down in the long, overgrown grass, staring at the building. One HYDRA operative stood on top of the building. Two stood at the front door, two stood at the back, and another pair were circling the building constantly.

"It's pretty heavily guarded," Falsworth observed.

"If you were trying to contain someone like Josie or I, would you leave it to two slackers?" Yori challenged.

"Absolutement pas!" Dernier replied firmly. I chuckled.

"Fan out," Steve ordered. "We'll do this when the circling guards are at opposite ends of the building. Buck, you take the left side, Limey, the right. Yori, you'll handle the roof again? If anything goes wrong, you're our backup."

"Of course," Yori said, and flapped her wings, taking to the skies.

"Dugan, Dernier, and I will handle the ones in the rear and breach there. Once you've take your shot, Limey, join us. Josie, you, Jones, and Morita will handle the front. Bucky, you go with them. Any HYDRA you see, take them out. Any mutants you find, you keep them safe," Steve said firmly. "We'll meet at the stairs and cover the second floor together."

"Approach them carefully and with weapons either holstered or pointed at the ground," I added. "No guarantees where they're from or if they speak English. They may take you as a threat and attack. Trust me, you don't want that."

"And what's the signal?" Bucky asked. "You gonna send up a smoke signal?"

Steve smiled slightly. "You'll know it when you see it. Everyone ready?"

With that they split, everyone moving through the grass to circle the building, getting ready to take their shots. Morita, Jones and I crept to the front of the building and hunkered down beside the overgrown dirt road that led to the door of the clinic.

"Want to rock paper scissors for who takes the shot?" Morita offered. Jones grinned.

"Okay."

I smiled fondly and shook my head, keeping an eye on the sky. I knew what to look for, so I could faintly see the blur of black that was Yori wheeling high overhead, her shape occasionally blocking out the stars.

"Best two out of three?" Morita said the moment he lost.

"Sure. One… two… three…"

They were busy, so they didn't notice the silvery disc rising high into the air. It was the back of Steve's shield, hurled into the air to catch the moonlight on the reflective inner surface.

I raised my hands and pointed at each soldier by the door. "Shoot," I smiled at Morita and Jones. Phalanges fired from my fingers and downed both of the soldiers. At the same time, gunshots rang to the side of and behind the clinic. A dark shape dropped from the sky and, with a loud crack, snapped the neck of the soldier on top of the building.

We three stood up from the grass and shot towards the building. I saw Bucky running from the side to meet with us, his gun raised and ready. He formed up with us and Morita sprinted ahead. He aimed a dramatic kick at the door. They snapped open with no resistance, sending him sprawling into the building on the floor.

"Nicely done," Jones laughed as he offered Morita a hand up. Clattering footsteps coming down the hall made me whip around and fire a long spear of bone from my palm. It took the HYDRA agent in the chest and sent him to the ground without even the time to yell.

"Come on," Jones said, and we headed down the hall, kicking in doors as we went.

Most of the rooms we found were in shambles. Most of the medical equipment had been taken, either with the doctors when they pulled out or by whatever army was first into the area for their respective sides. Beds had been dragged randomly around the patient rooms, some scattered personal items proving that some soldiers had been sleeping on the first floor.

The offices had been torn apart already in search of valuables or personal objects. Medical records and invoices were tossed across the floor haphazardly and some filing cabinets had been turned over or the drawers pulled out and tossed across the room, again probably by whatever force had used the place before HYDRA came in.

Of course we did not go through this unaccosted. As we walked HYDRA soldiers would pop out of rooms, some of them clearly just waking up from a night's sleep. Morita covered us from the front, Jones from the back, as Bucky and I dove in and out of rooms, looking for signs of life or any records of what HYDRA had been doing.

We met Steve's group at the staircase.

"Anything?" Steve asked, and we all shook our heads.

"Everything down here looks like it's either been trashed or taken over by soldiers," Bucky explained.

Steve nodded. "Makes sense. It would be harder for prisoners to escape from upstairs." He nodded to the staircase and mounted it, the rest of us funneling up behind him. It was by no means the wisest or slickest method of getting to the second floor but it was our best option at that point.

Steve tried the door at the top of the stairs. It jiggled fruitlessly in the frame.

"They blocked it," he called back to us, and raised a foot as if to kick it down. Then the sound of screaming started an, moments later, the rattle of bullets.

"Gott in Himmel!"

"Was ist-?"

"Dämon!"

"Oh, I may not speak German but I know that word," Dugan said with a grin as the sound of a blade sliding through flesh echoed from behind the door. The screaming began to fade and the bullets stopped until finally, only one voice was left.

"Nein… Nein, nein! Nei-!"

"Hai," was the cold reply and then there was a sound of something bouncing across the floor. Footsteps calmly approached the door and there was a scraping sound and then a crash. The lock on the door clicked and Yori was revealed. She was looking incredibly rumpled and she seemed to have a couple of minor cuts on her, but she was smiling proudly, her foot resting on a decapitated head.

"Okaeri," she greeted coyly.

I laughed and replied, "Tadaima!"

She stepped aside and welcomed us to the second floor.

"I haven't been in most of the rooms," Yori cautioned, "but someone was nice enough to leave a window open so I took advantage of that."

" _Heil HYDRA!"_

On a suicide mission, the door down the hall suddenly burst open and five HYDRA agents burst out. Steve raised his shield to protect himself and those of us behind him. Yori dropped and lashed her whip in a snarl, severing one man's legs just above the ankles. Another lash cut him nearly in half. Bucky had picked off one man the next second, Dugan took out the third, Steve used his sidearm on the fourth, and I fired another spike from my palm, drilling through the last.

Silence hung in the air.

"Like I said," Yori grunted, picking herself up off the floor. "I haven't been in most of the rooms."

"Right," Steve said, looking down the hall suspiciously. "Yori, you and Josie go together. Everybody else, pair off and start searching rooms. Yell if you find anyone alive or…" He didn't need to finish.

"Come on," Yori said, gesturing for me to follow her. "I saw something back here."

"What is it?" I asked as I followed her down the hall as the others paired off and got to work. "And are you okay?" I added, looking pointedly at a cut on her upper arm that was slowly oozing blood.

"So maybe I kicked in that allegedly open window," Yori said with a careless shrug as she guided me around a corner. "Here."

She pointed at one door, and I could see why she considered it suspicious. In most of the rooms on the outside of the building the lights were out so that people wouldn't get curious about the clinic. The inside rooms were only dimly lit, just enough to see and work by. On the other hand, this room was ablaze with light that leaked from the corners of the door.

Yori kicked the door open and we both stared.

Lying on the floor, bathed in burning light from every angle, was a tall man with black hair and translucently pale skin. He looked even paler because of the white scrubs he'd been put in. He was skinny and had the build of a scholar, not a soldier. He was perhaps twenty. His hands were folded on his stomach and his eyes were closed. A pair of wire-framed glasses was folded on the ground next to him. Lights had even been rigged to shine across the floor. There was a single door on the opposite wall.

"What is this?" Yori breathed.

"Steve!" I yelled over my shoulder. "We've got someone!"

"We do too!" came Dugan's voice from farther down the hall.

"Dernier and I have as well," Jones said, although from the tone of his voice it was clear that the one he and the Frenchman had found was not still among us.

Footsteps echoed as our team converged on Yori and I. They pressed in around the door as Yori and I cautiously stepped into the room.

"Sir?" I asked uncertainly. The man shifted ever so slightly.

"Please go away," he said dryly in a faint German accent. "I haven't the patience for hallucinations at the moment."

"Sir, we're not hallucinations. We're American soldiers. We've raided this base and we'd like to get you out of here, if you don't mind," I explained to him slowly.

One eye cracked open. He reached over to grab his glasses and place them on his face. His eye lingered on Falsworth's hat, Morita, and Yori.

"American?" he said slowly. His eye drifted to Steve. "Painfully so, in some cases. Not so much in others. I'm sorry, but would you mind terribly switching off some of these lights? That's what the switches outside the door are for. It's been so long since I've been in some decent shade."

It was Jones that obliged, flipping a couple of the switches in the hall. Most of the lights went out, leaving the room at a much more normal level of brightness. When the lights had flicked off the man opened both eyes and stared at the ceiling.

"That's better." He sighed. "The one you found alive, was it a young woman? Blonde hair?"

"That's ours," Dugan said slowly. "I mean, I guess. It's so dark in there I couldn't tell anything except there was someone in there."

A relieved smile spread across the man's face. "Ah. Then she's still alive."

I raised a hand to stall him. "Someone's on the other side of that door," I whispered, glaring heatedly at the closed door on the opposite wall. "HYDRA, I assume. They're slowly opening several locks, it sounds like."

"They," the German man said, his eyes and voice hardening and becoming something more than simply bored for the first time, "are mine." Moving slowly but deliberately, he rolled over onto his knees and pushed himself to his feet, facing the door.

The door sprang open, the barrel of a rifle glinting.

 _"Heil HY-"_

Before he could squeeze off the shot, the new shadows in the corners of the rooms seemed to bend and lunge, peeling themselves from the walls and wrapping around the gun. The shadows wrenched it from his hand and chucked it across the room. Yori caught it deftly and grinned.

"Impressive," she congratulated the man. His eyes had come completely and utterly black behind his glasses.

"Many thanks," he said casually as he raised a hand. At his direction, the HYDRA soldier's shadow peeled itself up from the floor, winding around his body. He screamed, but he was caught fast by the shadow. The silhouette of his own hands closed around his throat and began to squeeze. He shuddered and gasped his way into death as the shadow wrung the life from him.

"That was remarkably satisfying," he said finally as the body fell to the ground.

There was a sudden burst of light from down the hall.

"That's the room we were in," Dugan said, staring somewhat nervously at the open doorway. Yori and I poked our heads out to look as well.

The man in white smiled darkly. "She's coming."

The burning light from inside the room emerged and was revealed to be a woman about the same age as him. She was blonde and dressed in the same simple white scrubs. Her eyes were ablaze with white light and so was the rest of her body. She came walking down the hall, a furious scowl on her face.

"Matthäus!" she demanded with a strong French accent. "Where is Matthäus?"

"Here, Paulette!" called the German man in the room.

"Move," the Frenchwoman growled to us furiously, "or I set you ablaze. _Allez!_ "

"I think we should let her through," Dugan said faintly, examining the glowing woman.

"Yes, probably," chimed in the German man, Matthäus.

"You are standing between myself and my fiancé," Paulette growled. "That is not a good place to be."

Understanding dawned. "Get back, all of you, and let them see each other," I said immediately, urging the Howling Commandoes back from the doorway. I grabbed Yori's arm and yanked her out into the hallway, making way for Paulette. She gave me a thankful look before sprinting through the door and flinging herself at Matthäus shamelessly, leaping onto him and wrapping her arms and legs around him tightly.

"Je vous ai manqué," she whispered as she hugged him tightly.

"Bist du in Ordnung?" Matthäus murmured back, hugging her tightly.

"Oui, oui. And you?"

"Ja."

I heard Yori laughed slightly beside me and turned to her.

"What's funny?" Steve asked her. She looked at me questioningly.

"You get it too, right?"

I smiled, and could barely restrain myself from a girlish squeal. "I do."

"Well I for one am lost!" Falsworth said crossly. "Why does Yori have that soppy look on her face?"

That 'soppy' look immediately turned into a glare. I put a hand on her shoulder soothingly.

"Because it's so romantic," I explained. "You said she was kept in the dark, and he was kept in the light, right?" I asked Dugan, who nodded.

"Because he controls shadows and darkness," Yori said, pointing to Matthäus, who had yet to let go of Paulette.

"And she controls light," I said, pointing at Paulette.

The men's eyes widened in understanding.

"That's… kind of sweet," Dugan admitted grudgingly.

"It's _very_ sweet," I corrected him. I felt a hand slide into my palm and I smiled at Bucky fondly.

Steve cleared his throat. "Excuse me?" he called to the reunited couple in the middle of the room. "Do you need a ride out of here? We can take you-"

"No need," Matthäus cut him off. "I have alternative transport."

"Do you have someplace safe to go?" Yori confirmed.

"Oui." Paulette nodded. "I have an aunt in Paris who will take us in."

"Are you ready?" Matthäus asked her. Paulette nodded and held on even tighter, tucking her head under his chin. The pair of them looked at us. "Danke."

"Merci."

With that, Matthäus's shadow peeled up from the ground and enveloped both him and Paulette. It covered them completely and dragged them into the ground before gradually lightening. When it was gone, so were they.

"That's convenient," Yori said jealously.

Jones threw up a hand. "What just happened?"

I smiled at the ground where the two had vanished. "If I had to guess," I said slowly. "I'd say they're at Paulette's aunt's right about now."

* * *

Gott in Himmel – God in heaven

Was ist-? – What is-?

Dämon! – Demon!

Nein – No

Hai – Yes

Okaeri – Welcome home

Tadaima – I'm home!

Allez – Go ahead! Or something along those lines.

Je vous ai manqué – I missed you

Bist du in Ordnung? – Are you alright?

Oui - Yes

Ja – Yes

Danke – Thanks

Merci - Thanks


	34. The Ealums

Chapter 34: The Ealums

"Do you think Paulette and Matthäus are okay?" I asked Yori as I ducked a punch from her. I grabbed her tail and wrenched her off balance. She growled and retaliated with a spinning kick towards my face.

"I'd say so. I'm impressed HYDRA managed to catch the pair of them in the first place," she admitted as she dodged a bone that shot from my side and swung around the opposite direction.

"I'm surprised you ladies are still with us," Dugan said as he grunted and placed his weights back on the rack. "Don't dames usually take hours to get ready? You've only got four hours until Stark's party starts."

We'd made it back in time for Howard Stark's Christmas party with a truck full of documents for the labs to go through and try and decipher on whatever had been going on at the clinic-turned-nightmare. The other mutant there had been buried before we headed back and we'd found a name for her, so we were also going to try and notify her family.

Yori's response was to snarl and send a couple of warning sparks off her fingers. Dugan and the rest of the men laughed.

"You know our girls aren't like other dames," Bucky chided, and I felt warm. Not just _Bucky's_ girl, but _their_ girl. Yori and I were part of the team, really part of the team. We were their girls.

"Why am I not surprised to see you two roughhousing with the boys?"

The voice startled all of us, but none more than me. I whipped around so fast my back popped at the familiar accent. In the doorway stood the last person I'd expected to see – a nearly eighty-year-old woman with a neat coif of iron grey hair and blue eyes that glittered with mischief, leaning but not depending on a gold and ebony cane.

"You-" Yori breathed.

"Granny Nevade?" I said blankly. "How are you… You're _here!"_ Elation welled up in me – it had been entirely too long since I'd seen my great-grandmother. I slithered between the ropes and ran at her eagerly, beyond delighted to see her again.

I nearly plowed head first into a wall. Suddenly, Nevade was standing a few feet away with an affronted look on her face.

"I am an eighty year old woman! I am _delicate!"_ she rebuked.

"The hell you are," Yori snorted. Nevade scowled and suddenly she was next to Yori in the ring. She smacked her on the head with her cane and was back at my side before Yori could whip around and retaliate.

"Language," she simpered.

"It's wonderful to see you," I said, wrapping my grandmother in a hug. She hugged me back tightly, proving that no, she wasn't delicate at all. She pulled back, smiling at me as she cupped my cheeks between her hands and tilted my face down so she could plant a kiss on my forehead.

"It's good to see you, sugar," she said fondly, eyes full of love.

"It's good to see you too, Granny Nevade," I smiled at her. "But, what are you-"

"I received a call from your father saying he'd been invited to a Christmas party by Howard Stark," Nevade explained. "He wasn't interested until he found out you would be here. So, he called me. I decided I'd pop over to Greece, grab him and your gold digger of a stepmother just to spite her, and zap us all here to see you!"

Steve stepped forwards. "So when you said your grandmother was a mutant as well, she can-"

"I can teleport," Nevade said, turning me loose to stare at all of the men interestedly, "across ridiculously large distances. If you all would ever like a day trip to China or some such, do let me know." She eyed Steve up and down. "You're the one then, Captain America. I've seen your films."

Steve blushed slightly. "Ah, that…"

"Yes, that," Nevade said, smiling teasingly. "And may I say, you look better than a glob of butter melting on a stack of pancakes."

Steve went even brighter red and Yori had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from doubling over laughing.

"Yori, it's not polite to laugh," Nevade chided.

"Y-Yes," Yori stammered as she fought to smother laughter.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Falsworth said, coming forward. That triggered it and suddenly my grandmother was surrounded by the rest of the Howling Commandoes, holding court as they introduced themselves. I noticed Bucky send me a somewhat nervous look before a approaching her and giving his name, shaking her hand politely and smiling at her in that charming way he had.

"At the risk of sounding like that your gold digger of a stepmother," Nevade said, looking at the Howling Commandoes speculatively, "Josie dear, you are surrounded by some very good-looking men. Have any of them caught your attention?"

The boys might have practiced it for how quickly they stepped back and shoved Bucky forwards. He froze as Nevade eyed him up and down.

"Well, you're nice to look at," she mused, "but have you got a brain in your head, that's the question."

"I like to think so," Bucky replied uncertainly. "I mean, I'm nothing like Josie, but I think I keep up pretty well."

Nevade nodded in approval. "You admitted you're dumber than my granddaughter, so at least you're man enough for that and don't seem to have a problem with it." She patted him on the cheek encouragingly. "You get credit for that."

"…Thank you?"

"Nevade!" I hissed as Yori continued to smother laughter. Nevade looked at her challengingly.

"What about you, Yori? Any of these fine young men courting you?"

An ugly glare was sent Nevade's way. "I don't get courted, you old bat," Yori said darkly. "You know that."

Before it could get any tenser – Yori and Nevade normally got along fairly well but Nevade had a bad habit of pushing Yori's buttons, and she was a master of pushing buttons – I stepped in.

"You said father was here?"

"Yes. Last I saw him he was trying to reason with your gold digger of a stepmother," Nevade said. "I'll take you to them now, you should have enough time to catch up before the party tonight. And you." She prodded Bucky in the side with her cane. "You'll need to come too so that my grandson can threaten you." She turned on her heel sharply and headed for the door. "Come along!"

The Howling Commandoes stared at me in amusement and a shell-shocked Bucky in sympathy.

"My grandmother," I said weakly, gesturing after her.

"Now I knew where you get it from," Dugan ribbed me good-naturedly.

"Best of luck," Falsworth said, clapping Bucky on the shoulder. Steve slapped him on the back and Bucky jolted.

"Had to happen at some point," he said sympathetically.

Nevade poked her head into the room with one eyebrow raised. "Am I talking to air?"

"Coming," I called hastily, and grabbed Bucky's hand, dragging him after me. We trailed a few feet behind Nevade as she led us through the hallways like she'd been working there for years.

"Does she like me?" Bucky hissed, grabbing my hand in his and squeezing tightly. "I can't tell."

"She likes you," I assured him, confident. "She doesn't tease people she doesn't like. Besides, _I_ like you and that counts for something."

Bucky smiled faintly. "Well I should hope you do. But…" He paled slightly. "Your father. I've never met a girl's father before."

"Haven't you?" I asked, honestly surprised. I knew he'd been a lady's man before the war and I'd assumed that at least one of those relationships had been somewhat serious. But Bucky shook his head.

"Never felt the need. Even when I liked a girl, I always knew I wasn't going to settle down with them. I never even considered meeting a girl's family until you," he assured me, squeezing my hand and raising the back of it to his lips for a quick kiss. I blushed.

Bucky laughed quietly, his expression lightening. "Does she ever call your stepmother anything else?"

"To answer your question, young man, I do like you, even more after eavesdropping on that conversation. And as for your other question – not unless I'm around her. I am a lady, after all," Nevade spoke up suddenly. She glanced over at me and smiled. "I was pleased when I heard that Josie was following my footsteps and joining the war effort. I'm even more pleased it led her to a good man. Of course, I reserve the right to pass judgment should you break her heart," Nevade warned.

"You were in a war?" Bucky asked in utter disbelief.

Nevade smiled slyly. "There may or may not have been messages that I may or may not have passed across Confederate lines to the Union army, and I may or may not have spied on Confederate forces. This all may or may not have happened, of course, I'm speaking entirely hypothetically."

Bucky stared at me in disbelief. I laughed a little at his expression. "Her mutation made her uniquely suited for a courier," I explained. "Even the people she was passing messages to and for never knew how she did it or who she was."

"Well of course not," Nevade sniffed. "I'm a lady. I'd never teleport and tell."

We paused outside of a door and Nevade stopped me as I reached for the door handle.

"Wait a moment." She pushed the door open ever so slightly and nodded to Bucky. "He deserves to know what he's about to walk into."

"Nevade," I begged, but she silenced me with a look. I glanced at Bucky, who looked to me for approval.

"Do you want me to hear this?" he asked, offering me the chance to say no. I sighed. He'd already heard the stories and if he was going to court me he should know what he was getting into with my family as well.

"I suppose you'll find out sooner or later," I allowed, and beckoned him closer to the door. I could hear my father and stepmother arguing inside the room and winced as Bucky took up a position by the crack in the door to listen.

"I could be having tea with the other embassy wives!" my stepmother Sarah was snarling. "Instead your grandmother dragged me here against my will with that horrible jumping of hers."

"Nevade only meant to give us a chance to see Josie," my father Thomas was trying to reason with her.

"The only time I want to see Josie is when she announces she's managed to nab a man and do something productive with her life," Sarah snapped. "I know she's your daughter, Thomas, but no man will take her if you don't start reigning her in a little."

"There's nothing wrong with Josie," my father said wearily. It was an argument he'd been a part of more than once.

Sarah sniffed. "Hopefully not. Hopefully the reason we've been invited here is because she's been smart enough to cozy up to Howard Stark. She may be decent with her test tubes but when it comes to men, Josephine is an idiot."

Bucky's fists were clenched at his side and an angry spark lit his eyes. He looked from the door to me. I shrugged, not sure what to say. It was nothing new to me, I'd heard her say that and worse to my face.

"How dare she?" he hissed. "She can't talk about you like that."

I laughed wryly. "Well she wasn't so far off about that last bit."

"Nevade had no right – she knows how I feel about her unnaturalness," Sarah continued. "What right does that old hag have to drag me halfway across Europe?"

"She only meant to give us a chance to see Josie," my father repeated, which was a sure sign that the argument as about to start all over again.

Nevade took that as her cue to throw the door open and urge Bucky and I inside with her cane. We spilled into the conference room with her behind us. She shut the door sharply and spun to face my parents.

"I found Josie," she said proudly, gesturing to me. She hooked the leg of a chair at the table and dragged it out, sitting down sharply.

"Josie."

My father was a sight for sore eyes. It had been years since I'd seen him and I drank in every bit of his appearance, from the grey eyes we shared to the militarily-neat brown hair flecked with grey to the broad shoulders and straight back. He was over six feet tall and well muscled, crow's feet and laugh lines only just beginning. He was in his khakis and looked every inch a model solider. I smiled.

"Daddy."

"Hello Jojo," my father said, his eyes alight with affection as he opened his arms. He was the only one allowed to call me Jojo. I flung myself into his arms, hugging him tightly. I laughed as he picked me up and spun me around before setting me down and tilting my face up to look at him. He kissed my forehead.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Better than I've ever been."

There was a sound of distaste from Sarah. I turned to look at her, sheltered in my father's arms.

Sarah was gorgeous, I had to give her that. Blonde-haired, blue-eyes, tall and curvy. She was Steve's looks in female form but with none of his good attributes. Only in her mid-thirties, she was a bit younger than my father which had led to the moniker Nevade used for her. She had a nose that was forever wrinkled like she smelled something bad and a permanent pout.

"You're still playing soldier?" Sarah asked in disgust, looking over my slacks and the slight sheen of sweat still lingering on my forehead from working out with Yori. "Is this the work of that horrible Tsukuda woman? I hear she's here as well."

I narrowed my eyes. "Yori and I aren't playing at anything, Sarah. We are soldiers."

"You're women, although I'd say that she's closer to an animal," Sarah said dismissively. "At the very least you're surrounded by men so you can't hide from them in your books. Tell me you've had the good sense to get close to Howard Stark."

"He's a friend," I said slowly. Sarah smiled sharply.

"Good," she purred, "you can work from that. I must say I am slightly impressed. I didn't think you would ever be able to get a man's attention. The way you look and act, I- ow!"

Nevade had whacked her sharply around the knees with her cane. She smiled innocently as Sarah whirled on her.

"So sorry," she said saccharinely. "It slipped."

"You saw that, didn't you Thomas?" Sarah demanded. "She hit me! That old hag actually hit me!"

"She said it slipped," my father said dully. He never allowed himself to take sides in their fights. "Sounds plausible to me."

"Oh grow a spine," Sarah snarled at him, glaring at Nevade. "You had better watch it old woman, because I-"

"Can be very easily abandoned in the middle of the Pacific and no one can charge me for jack squat because it's international waters," Nevade replied, her tone honey and syrup as she stood up. She was a good six inches shorter than Sarah but had a commanding air that Sarah decidedly lacked.

"Grandmother," father pleaded. "Don't start."

"Fine, I'll leave to get ready for the party tonight," Nevade said, throwing up her hands. "Josie, Thomas, gold digger." And with that, Nevade swept from the room, giving Bucky a wink as she left.

"That woman," Sarah fumed, before shaking herself from her rage. "Never mind her, she'll be dead soon anyway." Thomas stared at her askance. "What I want to know is how far you've gotten with Stark."

I glared. "He's a drinking buddy and a good friend, but that is all."

Sarah groaned. "Stupid girl, if you'd just…"

I turned my back on her and grabbed Bucky's hand, dragging him forwards. "Father," I said, "This is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky, this is my father, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Ealum."

"Lieutenant Colonel," Bucky said, and saluted. Father waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't bother with that. I'm not here for the Army, I'm here for my daughter. As far as the Army is concerned I'm still in Athens," he shrugged, smiling slightly. He offered a hand to Bucky, who shook firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, son. Are you part of Jojo's team?"

Bucky glanced at me sideways and I knew I'd be hearing about 'Jojo' later. He smiled as he nodded. "Yes sir, I am."

"Thomas," my father insisted.

"Thomas," Bucky echoed, smiling and looking a bit more confident. His eyes immediately dimmed to dislike as Sarah stepped forwards.

"Excuse me, but _why_ are you here?" she demanded rudely.

"Nevade told me I should come," Bucky shrugged.

"And why would she do that?" Sarah challenged. "What do you do, boy?"

Bucky's jaw clenched but he kept his cool and replied with, "I'm a soldier, ma'am."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "A dim one, apparently. Everyone's a soldier these days, I meant before that."

"I was a delivery boy in Brooklyn."

"Oh, a delivery boy," Sarah sneered, "in Brooklyn. Well, I don't see why we need a delivery boy here, so why don't you run along and unload some boxes, eh?"

Bucky turned his back on her, facing my father down instead. "I'm courting your daughter, sir," he announced confidently.

Father's eyes widened. He looked from Bucky to me questioningly. I stepped closer and wrapped my hand around Bucky's supportively. He looked at our entwined hands. "So you are," he observed. "I suppose you and I should take some time to talk later on, eh? I need to know your intentions towards my daughter."

" _Intentions?"_ Sarah exclaimed in horror. "What do his intentions matter?" She looked at me hard. "You're to break off this foolishness at _once_ , Josephine, and set your sights higher. You're the heiress to a ridiculously large fortune." To her credit she only managed to sound a little jealous. "You can do far better than a _delivery boy,"_ she sneered at Bucky. "Did you even finish _school?"_

"Shut up."

Rage pounded red in me and I felt Tigress roar inside my head protectively. She loved Bucky just as much as I did and she would tolerate insults to him even less than I would. I glared at Sarah, who gaped at me.

"Excuse me?" she huffed. "Shut up? How dare you address your mother that way?"

"I'm an eternally grateful we don't share the same genetic material," I told her coldly. "And the next time you so much as look at my Bucky the wrong way, I _will_ make you regret it."

Sarah snarled. "How dare you? Who do you think you are? Just because the old hag has indulged your childishness…"

"You'll leave Nevade out of this if you're smart," I warned. "Don't dig your grave any deeper."

"Thomas!" Sarah appealed. "You won't let her talk to me that way, will you?" she batted her eyelashes father, who clenched his jaw.

"Josie," he began slowly. "You should show her some respect."

"When she earns it I will give it happily," I snapped. "Until then I'll treat her exactly as she deserves. She can say whatever she likes about me but I will not let her say anything about Bucky. He is kind and funny and intelligent and sweet and he may not have money but so what? I've got enough for the both of us and I'm sure as hell more likely to share my wealth with him than you," I snapped at Sarah. She opened her mouth to responds but I'd had enough of her vitriol. I opened my mouth and let out a roar that rocked the room. She went white and staggered back.

"You're a beastly girl," she murmured before fleeing the room.

Silence held on for a very pregnant moment.

"Time to back down, Tigress," my father said soothingly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The fight's over."

The red faded and the urge to tear Sarah apart went with it. I slumped and ragged a hand over my eyes. "I'm sorry father," I said softly. "I know you love her…"

"You are my daughter," he insisted. "You are always first in my heart. But I should…" he hesitated. "I should go after her."

"Go," I urged. "I'll be fine."

"I'll see you later tonight," father said, kissing my forehead and hugging me quickly before following Sarah out of the room.

"How dare she?" Bucky demanded the moment the door shut. "Where does she get off talking to you like that? I swear if she were a man I'd have decked her right there!"

I smiled weakly as Bucky turned to look at me. The anger faded from his eyes and they clouded with pity. "Ah Belle," he murmured, and pulled me into his chest. I breathed in the soothing scent of him.

"I've mentioned my family's crazy, right?" I muttered into his chest.

"She _shouldn't_ talk to you like that," Bucky growled, stroking my hair. "She _shouldn't."_

"She's been doing it for years and I doubt she'll stop any time soon," I sighed. "But for now that doesn't matter because I have you."

" _Your_ Bucky?" he asked wryly, kissing the top of my head and chuckling.

"As much as I'm your Belle," I promised him, rising up to kiss him on the lips briefly. He wasn't having it. He cupped the back of my head and kept me there.

"I suppose it wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to say you are very attractive when you're angry?" Bucky murmured against my lips. I laughed slightly and shook my head. "Hm. Good thing I didn't say it then," he said, and went back to kissing me.

Tigress reared her head and I fisted my hands tightly in Bucky's hair. "Mine," I growled against his mouth and felt Bucky's breath hitch.

"Whatever you say, Belle."


	35. Josie's Night

**More and more people keep saying that this story is similar to Beyond Repair by typewriter improvisor. I'd like to clarify - ****I AM NOT plagiarizing her story. To be completely honest, I think hers is better than mine. I've spoken with her about this months ago when I first started getting comments. We've both agreed that while our stories have the same pairing, beyond that we simply used the same way to get our characters involved in the stories. Both of us drew from family histories for some of the events in our stories, both of us have read each other's stories and she's agreed that if I ever do anything that crosses the line into plagiarism or makes her feel like my story is coming too close to hers, she'll let me know, seeing as hers came first. I've laid out a lot of the plot details for my story for her and she agrees that it's not a rip-off. So, there. That's my piece on that.**

 **But anyway, enough ranting. Instead, let's focus on the good - DOUBLE UPDATE. If a pair of chapters focus on the same event or topic I usually like to upload them together just for the sake of continuity. This chapter and the next both focus on Howard's Christmas party, but one if from Josie's perspective and one is from Yori's.**

* * *

Chapter 35: Josie's Night

The knock on my door pulled me from a conversation with Yori. I glanced sideways at my reflection in the mirror to give myself a last once over as she got the door.

The deep navy dress was made of the same satin material as Yori's and had the same wider skirt but it was cut a bit tighter at the chest and had three-quarter-length sleeves. I wore a black belt, pumps, and gloves as well and my hair had actually been let down from its normal bun and fell into waves over my shoulders and down my back, just for Bucky. Red lips and eyes with a hint of smoke completed my outfit.

"Josie." Bucky distracted me, sweeping me up into his arms and kissing me soundly on the mouth before pulling back and spinning me. I smiled in amusement, looking him over in his khaki uniform. As usual the tie was slightly crooked and his hat was tipped jauntily but I wouldn't have it any other way. Without the tiny rebellions, he wouldn't be my Bucky.

"You look very handsome tonight soldier," I told him, smiling.

"And you, Miss Ealum, are looking ravishing," Bucky said, spinning me into his arms for a hug. I smiled at him as Steve moved off to greet Yori. Leaning up, I kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Merry Christmas," I murmured to him.

"Merry Christmas," Bucky whispered back, eyes glowing with mischief. "Fair warning. I plan to drag you under every sprig of mistletoe I can find tonight."

I laughed and hugged him. "There are worse fates," I said, glancing over to the other couple in the corner. I watched in awe as Yori took off the mask at Steve's quiet urging. I couldn't pull her out of her slump but Steve had managed it with a simple request and a joke. Yori was still pulling at her sleeves and fidgeting with her belt but she looked a little bit more confident.

Steve came towards me and I stared over his shoulder at Yori, mouth opened in surprise. She was watching Steve's back as he left her side and the look on her face, a mix of longing, frustration, fear, and something softer. If I didn't know any better, I'd say…

Oh. Oh sweet Jesus.

"You look great, Josie," Steve said, smiling at me and giving me a spin. I grinned back and leaned up to kiss his cheek fondly, but my eyes lingered on Yori over his shoulder. Her face was now carefully blank – she'd gotten herself under control.

"Not too bad yourself soldier," I replied, crooking his tie with a joking flick. Steve, of course, fixed it immediately. Arms coiled around my waist and pulled me back against a broad, strong body. I smiled and reached down, placing my hands over Bucky's without thought as he set his chin on my shoulder.

"Not trying to put the moves on my girl, are ya pal?" Bucky teased lightly.

"Never," Steve promised, holding up his hands. He looked back over his shoulder and offered an arm to Yori. "Shall we go? Howard will have our heads if we're late."

"I'd like to see him try," Yori smirked, her usual confidence fixed firmly in place as she moved to Steve's side, but I noticed that she didn't take his hand.

"Shall we?" Bucky's eyes were gleaming happily, fondly, _lovingly_ as he looked down at me, offering me an elbow.

"Thank you, Sarge," I cooed, and coiled my hands around his arm.

Together we left the room and Bucky and I took the lead, Yori and Steve lingering behind us as we made our way to the mess hall, which was the only room in the base big enough for a party. At least, the kind of parties Howard Stark threw. There could be no live music or dancers, but that hadn't stopped him from buying up most of the Christmas decorations London had to offer and importing booze from all over for the evening.

Music could already be heard drifting down the hall through a speaker system. Popular favorites as well as standard Christmas carols alternated as we walked and I pulled Bucky's arm over my shoulder, tucking myself against his side and smiling as the seasonal cheer washed over me.

The mess hall doors were wide open and the usual long tables were gone, replaced by small round tables with white tablecloths and centerpieces of winter flowers. A buffet lined one wall, but most of the room was cleared for dancing. Soldiers spun around with secretaries, the ratio of men to women staggering. The ladies were jealously guarded once claimed and ruthlessly poached by the others. Flashbulbs popped as a couple of photographers roamed the room, getting pictures of the event.

Bucky pulled me up short before we could go inside. I looked up at him questioningly.

"Mistletoe," Bucky said, looking up at the lintel above up. I smiled at the sight of the red berries. Leave it to Howard… Folding my hands behind my back, I leaned forwards and smiled, waiting. Bucky grinned and grabbed my shoulders, kissing me sweetly. He didn't let go, happily continuing to kiss me until someone cleared their throat.

"Some of us need to get in this room," Steve said pointedly, grinning at us fondly as we pulled apart.

"You're just jealous you don't have anyone to kiss under the mistletoe," Bucky said.

"I will stab you with my tail if you try," Yori said hastily, looking alarmed. Bucky laughed and I chuckled, but I was watching Yori as she looked sideways at Steve like she simultaneously hoped and feared he'd kiss her.

"Don't worry, I won't kiss a lady unless she wants me to," Steve assured her. "You're safe."

"Want to dance?" Bucky asked as we stepped inside properly.

"I'm going to sit," Yori said firmly, gesturing to a nearby table. She looked to Steve and nodded at Peggy, who was caught in the arms of a soldier and looking less than pleased about it. "Go save your dear Agent Carter, you're wasting your night with me," she urgedd, before moving off.

Steve watched her go before looking to me. "Has she always been that blunt?"

"Oh yes," laughed a voice. I looked around and smiled as Nevade swept out of nowhere, seizing Steve's hand and dragging him onto the dance floor. "I'm claiming this stud's first dance!" she called over her shoulder to me as several soldiers laughed and wolf whistled at Steve as he was dragged past. Ever the good sport, Steve let her pull him into a dance.

"Can't let them show us up, can we?" Bucky asked with a smile as _In The Mood_ came on. I grinned, remembering father dancing me around the living room to this song before the war started.

"Let's go," I smiled and we rushed onto the dance floor eagerly. I gripped Bucky's hand and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I laughed delightedly as he spun me out and back in before beginning to twirl me. I let myself be dragged around, smiling at Bucky as he spun and twirled me in and out. I threw an arm out wide and narrowly missed a blonde secretary's face as she danced past. I didn't care though as Bucky tugged my hand. I strutted back towards him, swaying my hips and twirling under his hand and back around, his hand settling on my waist once more.

Bucky swung me out and around as Nevade steered Steve towards us, eyes glittering happily as she nodded to Bucky.

"And he can dance!" she praised. "Keep this one, he's good!"

"I plan to!" I laughed as I shimmied my shoulders and Bucky swung us around.

"Enjoying yourself?" Bucky teased Steve, who responded by gripping Nevade tightly and hoisting her into a lift. My great-grandmother laughed uproariously as she was set back down. Bucky and I howled as Steve yelped when she pinched his rear.

"I may keep this one!" she called to me before they were lost in the dancers again.

"I love your grandmother!" Bucky laughed as I spun once more and kicked my feet up.

"Hey now, be careful talking like that Sarge or I might get jealous," I said as he tugged me back into him. He tried to grab me around the waist but I dodged and snatched his hat off his head, dropping it on my own and smirking as I swished my skirt and sashayed back up to him.

"Honey, you are one of a kind," Bucky laughed as I plopped his hat back on his head as the song ended and made sure to twist it slightly off center.

"And don't you forget it," I grinned, grabbing his tie and tugging him in for a quick kiss. I had nearly as much adrenaline going as I did in a fight. Dancing with Bucky was pure energy and happiness and I couldn't imagine a better feeling.

"Mind if I cut in?" asked a smooth voice. Howard snagged me by the hand and tugged me into a shimmy.

"Howard!" I yelped in surprise before throwing my head back and laughing. I waved to Bucky and he waved back, retreating to the drinks as he watched me in amusement.

"Sorry to steal you from your fella but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't grab a dance with the prettiest girl here tonight," Howard grinned, his mustache turning up.

I chuckled. "You been using that line on every girl tonight?" I asked knowingly.

"Maybe I will, how'd it work?" was the immediate reply. I chuckled and spun out and back in before going into a deep sway. I smiled at Yori and Steve at a table in the corner and waved. Howard pulled me into a spin and kept me going, my skirt rising around my legs and flaring widely before he wrapped an arm around my waist and hoisted me up into a turn. I dropped back to the ground with a smile and pecked Howard's cheek.

"If I didn't know you any better I'd say you actually thought you were trying to win a date from me."

"Luckily you know me better," Howard chuckled. "I don't really want to fend off an angry soldier coming after his Josie."

"She was my Josie before anyone else."

"Father!" I smiled as Thomas Ealum appeared at Howard's shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at the millionaire. "Mr. Stark, mind if I cut in?" he asked with a grin.

Howard stepped away from me and gestured to me with a dramatic bow and wave of his arms. "All yours, Lieutenant Colonel!" he said, and quickly snagged a redhead out of the arms of another soldier.

"That man," father said, shaking his head.

"He's brilliant and what's worse, he's aware," I said knowingly. Father smiled down at me.

"Exactly." His smile fell. "Jojo, I don't want to ruin the night but I want you to know that your mother was out of line earlier…"

I sighed. "Daddy I know. I also know she'll never change. I'm sorry you can't have us both around but I think that'd cause you more pain than just spending time with us in turns."

Thomas winced. "It shouldn't have to be that way…"

"It's Christmas Eve, daddy," I cut him off. "We can discuss this later. For now, we should just enjoy this wonderful night Howard's planned for us all."

"I quite agree," said a familiar voice. I turned around and grinned at Peggy in an equally red dress.

"Father, this is Peggy Carter. Peggy, this is my father, Thomas Ealum."

"Pleasure to meet you sir," Peggy said warmly, shaking my father's hand.

"As I hear it, you took my place training with Jojo in the mornings," father said, looking at me fondly.

Peggy's eyes glinted wickedly. "Well, _Jojo_ certainly gave me a run for my money." I pouted teasingly.

"She does me too," my father admitted conspiratorially.

Peggy opened her mouth to say something else, but scowled thunderously. "Oh rot, he's found me."

I followed her line of sight and saw a burly soldier pushing his way through the crowd, eyes locked on Peggy like she was some kind of prize to win at the county fair. My father followed my eyes and scowled as well.

"Want me to head him off?" he offered.

"If you wouldn't mind," Peggy said gratefully. Thomas smiled.

"Not at all. Happy to help," he said, and headed off to run interference.

"I can't get away from them!" Peggy exclaimed in frustration, throwing up her hands. "I know it sounds petty to be upset over all this attention but I haven't been able to sit for a second since I walked in the room. Half of them don't even ask for a dance, they just grab me!"

"Well then you need a partner," I said, and offered my hand to Peggy. She looked surprised and then amused as she took my hand with a gallant flourish.

"I'd be flattered," she said coyly before we made our way onto the dance floor, getting laughs as we spun each other around and twirled, clapping our hands and swaying our shoulders. I'd been to a few parties in my life but they were all usually business and this was pure pleasure. I was having a blast, dancing with everyone and passing from partner to partner.

I caught sight of Bucky sitting with Steve and Yori in the corner, all of them holding glasses of punch. I blew them a kiss before grabbing Peggy and lifting her up. She gave a surprised shout as she spun. A flashbulb went off and I made a mental note to request that picture from Howard when the night was over. I'd pay dearly to see that expression on Peggy's face.

"I always forget you can do things like that," she said breathlessly as I let her down.

"Sorry Agent Carter," Bucky said as the song ended. "I'm going to reclaim my date now if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Peggy said and stepped back, letting Bucky scoop me up into his arms. Peggy's eyes widened as the solider from before popped out of the crowd, looking frazzled. She swore and dove for the refreshments table like the hounds of hell were after her.

Benny Goodman's _Sing Sing Sing_ came on and Bucky began to guide me around the floor in an energetic swing.

"I've only gotten one dance with you," he pouted. "People keep hoarding my girl."

"I'm all yours the rest of the night," I promised, then added teasingly, "Well, unless a better offer comes along."

"Oh honey," Bucky said, tugging me in close and pressing his forehead down to me. There was a little husk in his voice as he whispered in my ear, "You're not gonna find anyone better than me."

I shuddered and pulled back, eyes gleaming challengingly. "Let's test that, shall we?" I asked archly, and guided him into a series of complicated steps, twists, and turns. Bucky followed skillfully and didn't so much as bat an eye as he lifted me and rolled me over his back before swinging me over his hip. The crowd wisely cleared away from us as we swung and turned and twisted all over the place. I laughed the whole time, flushed and happy as Bucky was close and then at arm's length and then close again. The song climaxed and Bucky pulled me into a series of tight spins before dipping me. I spun towards the ground and, as expected, Bucky caught my hand. I hung a scant few inches from the ground but securely caught, smiling up at him as once again the flashbulbs popped. The few people who'd gathered to watch clapped wildly and dispersed to find partners as a slower song came on.

 _"Do I want to be with you as the years come and go? Only forever, if you care to know,"_ Bing Crosby crooned and I sighed as Bucky pulled me up into his arms. I pressed closer to him, resting my head on his chest contently. I wasn't tired by any means but it was nice to dance to something slower after so many fast paced numbers.

"I love this song," I said fondly as Bucky gently swayed with me.

"Only forever, huh?" Bucky said thoughtfully. "Ya know, I was never too fond of this song and I could never figure out why until now."

"Why's that?" I asked, looking up curiously.

"I could never imagine forever with a girl until I met you," he said sweetly, eyes glowing warmly and crinkled in a soft smile as he looked down at me.

"And you say that I'm the one who has the perfect words," I said with a smile as my cheeks went pink. "You're gonna make me swoon, Sarge."

"Sarge," Bucky repeated. He leaned close, nuzzling my nose with his. "Is that what you're gonna call me on holidays, then?"

"Mm, I think so," I said decisively.

"I can live with that," Bucky approved. "But back to the perfect words. I think Bing Crosby wins on this one." He leaned forward to sing along in my ear. _"Would I grant all your wishes and be proud of the task? Only forever, if someone should ask."_

"I wish to dance with you all night long," I requested. "What can you do about that?"

"Happily granted," he said, and pecked my lips before pulling me close again. I rose up on my toes, still swaying with him as I sang softly.

 _"How long would it take me to be near if you beckoned? Off hand I would figure less than a second."_

"As fast as you are that might not be far from the truth," Bucky chuckled. I laughed along with him.

"Just say the word, my love, and I'll come running," I promised, draping an arm over his shoulder to toy with his hair. His hat was knocked even more askew but neither of us cared.

 _"Do you think I'll remember how you looked when you smile? Only forever, that's puttin' it mild,"_ Bucky sang the next verse. "Geez, compared to you I sound like a trainwreck."

I giggled at that. "Well, I have had vocal lessons," I admitted. "Part of that Southern Belle upbringing. _Do you think I'll remember how you looked when you smile? Only forever, that's puttin' it mild."_

Bucky squeezed me tightly as the song ended and it knocked the breath from me even though he wasn't very rough. It was the way he hugged me, like he'd rather die than let me go. "You mean that, sweetheart?" he whispered in my ear. "Could you really see a forever with me?"

I pulled back and I couldn't have stopped smiling it I wanted to, cupping Bucky's face between my hands.

"I will love you forever," I swore. "And I'll keep loving you for another eternity after that."

Bucky smiled at me and kissed me tenderly. "There you go with those perfect words again," he said against my mouth. I hummed happily and kissed him back contently, the rest of the world fading away and leaving only our perfect moment.

The moment broke with the flash of a camera. Bucky and I jerked apart in surprise to see Howard standing there with a camera, a startled photographer next to him with his hands still raised. Apparently Howard had snagged his camera and snapped a picture of us.

"Invite me to the wedding," he sang before diving off to grab Peggy for a dance.

"Howard," I laughed fondly as Bucky tucked me against his side and steered me towards the refreshments for a drink.

"I've gotta get a copy of that picture from him," Bucky said with a smile. "I wanna remember you like this forever. Pretty and smiling and happy and mine."

"Stay around and I'll always be like this," I teased as he handed me a glass of water. I drank gratefully, happy to get something cool down my throat.

"You seem to be having fun."

I looked up as Yori swung around a dancing couple with a scowl at them as the secretary gave her a fearful look. I sighed. I was having the time of my life tonight and I wished that Yori could too.

"I am," I said as Bucky fell silent by my side, letting us chat for a moment while he looked around the room curiously, chugging his water. His hand remained coiled around my waist and I laid my hand over his contently.

"Have you danced even once?" I asked Yori a little desperately. Her dark look answered my question. No, she hadn't, because no one had asked her and she'd be damned before she risked getting turned down to ask one of the men.

Steve moved past us. His eyes were fixed hopefully on Peggy, who was chatting with Nevade at another table. I felt a bit guilty for pulling him away from his beloved Agent Carter but nonetheless I grabbed him by the arm.

"Steve, take Yori for a dance," I nearly begged. Yori glared at me thunderously as Steve blinked and flushed.

"Oh, I guess… I suppose I could." He offered her a hand. "Yori?"

Yori blinked and flushed, mirroring Steve. She gave me one last incredibly black look but her expression softened as she looked back to Steve. She placed her hand in his wordlessly and let Steve pull her out onto the dance floor.

I bit my lip. No way could this end well. Steve was head over heels for Peggy and I couldn't hate him for that. Peggy liked him just as much and they were wonderful together. Yori was much darker, much harder than Peggy. She didn't care for people lightly and no matter what she'd be crushed by this because she'd never make a move on Steve and he'd never make a move on her even if he did feel similarly.

"What happened?" Bucky asked, pinching a bit of my skirt between his fingers to get my attention. "You look sad all of a sudden."

"Steve and Yori," I said, nodding to the couple. Bucky raised an eyebrow.

"What about them? They look pretty uncomfortable," he observed.

"She likes him," I said bluntly. "And she'll never say anything and Steve will never care for her the same way. It's a shame," I sighed. "Yori could use someone like Steve to keep her calm and level. Someone who'd treat her like a princess."

Bucky was surprised. "Yori likes Steve?" He squinted at them, taking in more than just their awkward dancing. If you were paying attention and knew her well enough, Yori's expression was visibly much softer than usual. Bucky whistled. "Oh lord."

"I agree," I said with a sigh.

"Hey." Bucky squeezed me briefly. "It's not your business and getting involved will just hurt yourself as well," he warned.

"I know," I groaned. "I just want her to be happy."

"We could get her drunk?" Bucky offered innocently, tilting a head towards the generous bar Howard had prepared where Dugan and Morita could be found in a drinking contest. I snickered at that.

"Yori and I can't get drunk," I explained laughingly. "Our metabolisms are too fast."

"My sympathies," Bucky chuckled.

There was a burst of feedback and everyone turned towards Howard, who had produced a microphone form somewhere and was holding it and a glass of bourbon. I had a sneaking suspicion it was my family's label.

"Alright everyone, it's time to begin the countdown to Christmas!" Howard called cheerfully. _"Ten! Nine! Eight!"_

 _"Seven! Six! Five!"_ the crowd took up.

"Hey," Bucky murmured in my ear. I looked around as _"Four!"_ echoed around the room.

"Yes?"

 _"Three!"_

Bucky pulled a hand out of his pocket. Mistletoe dangled over my head. I laughed.

 _"Two!"_

"You did promise," I recalled.

 _"One!"_

Bucky leaned down and kissed me as the clock struck midnight. It was officially Christmas and thus far this one was starting out better than any other I'd celebrated.

"I've got a gift for you," Bucky said huskily as he pulled back. "It's in my room."

"If _that_ doesn't sound like a line…" I chuckled. Bucky winced.

"Promise it's not."

"As it happens I've got something for you too, Sarge," I said, reaching up and tweaking his hat. "Shall we meet back there after we get our gifts and exchange them before we go to bed?"

In any other context 'go to bed' might have sounded like a euphemism but in this case it wasn't. Aside from a few morning kissing sessions Bucky and I still hadn't gone any farther than that despite the fact that we still shared a bed and I was content with the way things were.

"Sounds like a plan," Bucky said, brushed my hair back from my shoulders. "I'll see you in a minute, alright?"

"Alright," I agreed.

We went our separate ways. I hastily stripped off my dress and hung it up, stripping off my accessories and swiping off my makeup on a damp rag. I brushed some of the curl out of my hair and donned a nightgown and robe in emerald silk for the holiday before grabbing Bucky's package. I snagged a bottle of whiskey and two glasses as an afterthought before sneaking out of my room.

By some miracle we'd yet to be caught. At least, not by any of the other soldiers. Yori was aware, considering she had served as lookout for me one or two nights and Howard had caught me sneaking back through the halls in my pajamas one night.

I knocked on Bucky's door and as instantly welcomed inside. I sat down at the table and poured us both a glass of liquor. Bucky, clad in nothing but an undershirt and loose drawstring pants, dug into the drawer of his bedside table before pulling out a package wrapped in twine and brown paper.

"Sorry about the paper," Bucky said as he sat down, fingering his glass. "I've never been able to wrap a present to save my life and I figured this looked better than most anything I'd be able to manage."

I laughed. "Don't worry, I've been wrapping my father's gifts for him for years," I assured him. "You're not the only one." I slid his gift towards him and he slid mine towards me. My box was larger than his, I noticed, and wasn't surprised considering mine had more than one thing in it. I took a sip of whiskey, savoring the burn for a moment.

"You first," I urged, and Bucky tore open the paper like a child tearing into his presents. I smiled at the gesture, finding it oddly adorable. He lifted the lid off the box and grinned.

" _'To keep you warm when I'm not around,'_ " Bucky grinned, reading the note that rested on top. He lifted out the quilted blanket made from patches in shades of blue and grey, some patterned, some not. He examined the stitching. More specifically, the stitching inside one corner. " _Christmas '43. Love Belle,"_ he read and looked up at me in surprise. "Did you make this?" he asked in awe.

"I may not like mending hems but I do enjoy sewing," I admitted as he stood up, spreading the quilt out so that he could examine the pattern. I opened my mouth to protest, but it was too late as a small box fell out of the folds and hit the floor.

"You didn't have to get me anything else," Bucky chastened gently, tossing the quilt so that it lay somewhat smoothly over his bed before reaching down to pick up the other box. "I love the quilt enough."

"I like giving gifts," I said with a shrug, refusing to be ashamed. "Go ahead, open it," I urged, reclining in my chair and taking another drink. Bucky lifted the lid and stared.

"Oh. God Josie, you didn't have to…" He winced. "This is too much."

I shook my head, frowning. "No it's not."

"This must have cost a fortune," Bucky said, lifting out the pocket watch. It gleamed gold, with a simple pinstriped etching. He opened it up and laughed softly as he examined the picture of me tucked inside.

"I hope that wasn't too presumptuous," I fretted. "You can take the picture out if you like, I just thought maybe…"

"No," Bucky stopped me, placing a hand over mine. "I love it," he promised, but his expression was still pained.

"Then what's wrong?" I asked worriedly. Bucky shook his head and swallowed.

"I'm a delivery boy from Brooklyn. Your stepmother's right about one thing – I'll never be able to buy you pretty things. I've been pinching pennies my whole life just to get by and you grew up with so much money. I just wish-"

"You stop that right now." I was annoyed now. I pulled my hand out from under his and scowled at him. "You think I don't know you have less money than I do?"

Bucky winced. "You're not making this easier…"

"I don't mean to," I said shortly. "You could live in a castle or a cardboard box and I wouldn't care. I'm not so idealistic to say money doesn't matter but I am realistic to know that I've got enough money for the both of us. I'd happily toss it all in the Thames right now if it meant we got that forever we were talking about."

Bucky smiled faintly. "It sounds good when you say it like that but I still wish I could buy you pretty things. I want to give you the world and I can't, and that's frustrating."

"Give me things that make me smile, give me things that show how much you care about me, and I won't give a damn how much they cost," I told him bluntly. "You got that?"

Bucky laughed, his good mood restored. He saluted me. "Understood, ma'am."

I nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Now, do you like your gifts?"

"Love 'em," Bucky promised. He smiled as he held up the pocket watch. "We'll match," he said, referring to my mother's pocket watch that I always wore when I wasn't in the field.

"I'll have to get a picture of you to put in mine," I mused.

"Ask Howard, I'd say he just got a good one."

We laughed for a moment and then Bucky reached out, pushing his gift towards me.

"Now you," Bucky prompted. I nodded and cut through the twine with a sharpened bone form the tip of my finger. Bucky laughed. "Never have to look for a letter opener, do you?" he asked drily.

I smiled as I pulled back the paper and revealed a worn flat paper box. Curious, I lifted the lid. The bottom was lined in cotton and slumped in the bottom corner was a gold locket in the shape of an oval. There was a heart etched on it surrounded by flowers and leaves. It was very plain and a little worn, obviously second hand, but I immediately fell in love with it.

"Oh Bucky," I breathed, lifting it out by the chain. "It's perfect!"

Bucky coughed. "I just got it in this little second hand shop a couple blocks over. It's not as nice as the watch."

I scowled at him. "Quit insulting my necklace or I'll throw this box at you," I said sternly, raising the box warningly. Bucky held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, no violence. You really like it?"

In answer I turned around and handed him the necklace, sweeping my hair up. "Put it on me."

Bucky wrapped the chain around my throat and fiddled with the clasp for a moment before letting it fall. It hung just below the start of my cleavage, the perfect length. Bucky laid a kiss on the back of my neck over the clasp, running his hands down my arms.

"Merry Christmas, Belle," Bucky murmured in my ear, planting another kiss just behind it. I shivered and looked at him over my shoulder.

"Let's move this party to the bed," I said, standing up and grabbing my glass.

Bucky bobbed his eyebrows at me. "If that doesn't sound like a line," he teased.

"Oh, quiet you," I huffed as my cheeks went red. I stripped off my robe and crawled under the sheets with Bucky, curling contently against his side.

"Keep my nightmares away?" I asked as he wrapped an arm around me. I shifted to drape a leg over one of his, something I'd developed a habit of doing. Bucky teased that I was like a burr in my sleep.

"Only forever," Bucky promised with a gentle smile. I hummed in contentment and sang,

 _"Do you think I'll remember how you look when you smile? Only forever, that's puttin' it mild."_


	36. Yori's Night

**Fair warning: there is one slur in this chapter. I put it in only because of the time period Captain America is set in and I don't mean anything offensive by it. I hope everyone can understand that.**

* * *

Chapter 36: Yori's Night

"I look ridiculous."

"You do not," Josie disagreed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Yori and Josie had joined forces to get ready to go to Howard's party. It had taken an act of god - or in this case, an act of Stark – to get Yori to even consider going. Once he and Josie had managed, Howard had done everything in his power to make sure Yori would attend, from sending her a dress and accessories to hinting that he'd bought her a gift and would expect one in return.

Yori was wearing the Stark-approved outfit now and staring at her reflection glumly. It was a bit odd for her to see herself like that. It was always pants or the occasional yukata with her, never a dress. But the red satin garment, with its wide skirt and generous ruffles at the bust, was definitely suited to Yori, at least in terms of coloring. The black belt, pumps, and gloves clinched it. Josie had pinned her hair up in victory curls. With the natural coloring of her lips and spikes there wasn't much that could be done in the way of makeup aside from a dusting of powder and some mascara.

"I feel as if I'm a child playing dress up," Yori said, fidgeting uncomfortably with her gloves. "I don't… I don't do things like this."

Josie looked up, frowning in genuine concern and setting aside her tube of red lipstick. Yori wasn't being contrary for the sake of it, she genuinely wasn't okay. Her face was stressed as she stared at herself in the mirror and she couldn't stop moving – pulling at her gloves, adjusting her belt, sweeping her hands down her front, toying with the folds in her skirt.

"What's wrong?" Josie asked her gently, abandoning her makeup to look at Yori in concern. "What's really bothering you?"

Yori took a deep breath and with a pained expression replied, "I am… not pretty." She hastened to add, "Normally it doesn't bother me but aren't women supposed to feel pretty, all dressed up like this? But I… I don't. And I know I shouldn't but I still held out hope that maybe the… the dress and the… the hair would help."

Josie sighed. Yori was confident most of the time but even she had some insecurities. She had been told for most of her life that her appearance was unnatural, terrifying, or disturbing. It was no wonder she had issues with her looks.

"Yori," Josie began, but was cut off by a knock. Steve and Bucky had volunteered to escort them to the dance.

"I'll get it," Yori said, eagerly abandoning her reflection in favor of answering the door. She held it wide and quickly headed for the nightstand where her mask rested. Josie watched miserably as she picked it up and slid it on, tying the ribbon behind her head.

Bucky swept into the room, completely ignoring Yori in favor of his Belle. She didn't blame him. Yori watched Bucky and Josie as Bucky curled her into his arms. Her dear friend was laughing and smiling and looked so happy, loving and loved, as her soldier pulled her into an embrace. Hidden behind her mask, Yori allowed herself to bite her lip and look longingly at them before internally scolding herself.

What was wrong with her tonight? She was the demon of Japan! She was a powerful mutant, a survivor of wars and famines and disease. She was the scourge of villages once upon a time and now? Now she was pouting about how she wasn't pretty enough and how no boy wanted to dance with her. She passed that portion of her life a century ago, or at least she should have.

"I'm glad Bucky found Josie," Steve said softly, moving to stand beside her and watching as well. "I don't think I've ever seen him this taken with a girl."

"And Josie has never been so taken with a man," Yori returned.

"Are you… going to wear that tonight?" Steve asked her uncertainly. Yori couldn't see him but she knew his eyes were fixed on her mask.

"Are you going to order me not to?" she asked tensely, praying he wouldn't. Her mask was her safeguard. If people gave her strange or disgusted looks it was because of the mask, because of the carved snarl, not because of Yori herself. Or at least, that's what she told herself.

"No," Steve said slowly. "I'd never order you to do something like that. I know it would make you uncomfortable and I wouldn't want to do that to you. But I… I don't think you should."

"And why is that?" Yori asked, her voice still tense and she even detected a slight waver. _Ten no kamisama protect me, I'm turning into a girl!_

"Well…" Steve offered her a sheepish smile. "Doesn't really match your dress, does it?"

Yori let out a harsh laugh at that but for some reason she found her hands reaching back to untie the ribbon. "No," she heard herself say. "I don't suppose it does." And she abandoned the mask on the bed.

Steve moved off to say a few words to Josie and then they were off to the party. Yori wondered vaguely what another woman might feel on Steve's arm in such a gorgeous – and expensive, Josie had assured her after a look at the label – dress. Probably proud and pretty, on top of the world as they flaunted their date and their looks. Yori just felt incredibly inferior.

Josie and Bucky moved on ahead a little as Yori walked next to Steve, who wasn't quite sure what to do. He kept his arm half-way crooked in case Yori wanted to grab onto it but she didn't show any signs of moving towards it. Still, he didn't want to just ignore her.

He glanced sideways and frowned. He'd never seen her so twitchy, not even right before a mission when she nearly vibrated with adrenaline. She was tugging and adjusting her clothes, frowning and occasionally pulling at a coil of her hair, fiddling with the ends. She kept biting her lips and ducking her head.

It took him a moment but he realized that there was a method to Yori's madness. She was trying to cover as much of the spiky markings adorning her body as she could – now he saw that they were scattered down her legs and arms as well, at joints. She kept trying to hide the red strands of hair amongst the black and sucking in her lips to hide their color. Instead of the powerful woman she normally was, Steve was reminded of one of the shy girls who held up the walls at his high school dances.

Steve leaned down to murmur in her ear, "You look great, don't worry." He put a staying hand on hers.

Yori frowned, jolting at the sound of his voice. She frowned in confusion and looked up at him. "Why are you lying? You never lie."

"Lie?" Steve was lost. He gave her a compliment and she thought he was lying? What was worse, she was looking at him like she couldn't even comprehend another explanation for the compliment than a lie. His heart twinged painfully as he realized that whatever else she was – powerful, dangerous, strong – she was also a woman who'd been spit on and put down for most of her life and much as she might try to hide it, that had left a mark.

"I never look great," Yori said bluntly, still frowning. "Why would you say I do?"

Steve blinked, not quite sure how to respond. He'd given girls compliments before and they'd either accepted them and moved on or turned their noses up at him. None of them had ever outright rejected the compliment and then turned around and questioned him on it.

"Because…" Steve's eyes latched on something and the artist in him took over and started to explain, "Because the color of your dress really compliments your markings and your wings make this great line… And whatever Josie did with your face really brings out your eyes."

Yori tripped slightly, mouth lolling open slightly as she stared at Steve in disbelief. Her cheeks felt oddly warm and Yori realized that she was blushing, actually blushing.

"I-I see," she said faintly. "Th… Thank you, Steve."

Relieved that he'd managed to say the right thing, Steve smiled at her and nodded. "Any time."

Yori looked up as the approached the door to the mess hall, smiling slightly when they found Bucky entangled with Josie under a sprig of mistletoe. Yori raised an eyebrow as the kissing continued, silently encouraging her friend.

Steve cleared his throat pointedly. "Some of us need to get in this room."

"You're just jealous you don't have anyone to kiss under the mistletoe," Bucky said.

"I will stab you with my tail if you try," Yori said hastily. As much as she didn't think she'd mind sharing a kiss under the mistletoe with Steve, she was also positive that would open a door that she needed to remain firmly shut for her heart's sake. She wasn't blind – she knew Steve's heart belonged to Peggy and Yori was confident she could soon claim the small part of her own heart that Steve had stolen back so long as nothing intimate happened.

"Don't worry, I won't kiss a lady unless she wants me to," Steve assured her, much to Yori's relief. "You're safe."

"Want to dance?" Bucky asked as they stepped inside properly.

"I'm going to sit," Yori said firmly, gesturing to a nearby table. She looked to Steve and nodded at Peggy, who was caught in the arms of a soldier and looking less than pleased about it. "Go save your dear Agent Carter, you're wasting your night with me," she urged, before moving off.

As she moved off, she heard Steve ask, "Has she always been that blunt?"

Josie laughed and replied in the affirmative. Yori snorted at that as she took a seat at one of the small tables, crossing her legs and trying to look like she was comfortable. The truth was she'd never danced like this before. Some traditional dances during festivals as a child, with a coat and mask concealing her. That was the extent of her dancing experience, and she could see no relation between those dances and the ones going on in front of her.

Still Yori watched. She was determined that if she went on the dance floor she wouldn't make a fool of herself. So she watched the steps carefully and catalogued them, observing how they all went together. Mostly she'd figured out that there was a lot of spinning and shuffling, which seemed easy enough. Satisfied that she could at least hold her own if not attempt some of the more dangerous-looking twists and dips, Yori sat back.

Yori smiled as she saw Nevade pull Steve past, the older woman winking at Yori from under Steve's arm. Yori liked Nevade more than any of Josie's other relatives. The older woman was genuinely shameless and confident. As Yori wished she could be every day of her life, including nights like this.

Her insecurities crashed around her as her sensitive ears picked up some of the conversation from one table over. A sideways glance showed it was the blonde secretary who had stolen a kiss from Steve sitting next to a sergeant.

"I don't know why they're letting her walk around," the secretary said with a delicate shudder. "She's obviously dangerous. Just look at her!"

"Did you hear what happened to Donovan? She pinned him to the wall and threatened to choke the life out of him and Evans!"

"I'd believe it," the secretary said darkly. "That's exactly what I mean. She's clearly unstable and what do we really know about her? Technically, she's the enemy, right?"

"Freak of a Nip," agreed her companion. "Maybe HYDRA had a good idea, locking 'em all up."

"Imagine what they could do to us normal people," the secretary continued. "And I've no idea how that other one managed to get her claws in Barnes," she said, casting Josie a dark look as she was spun around by Howard. "And Stark too! They're both hideous little beasts." Jealousy was plain on her face and her companion seemed to notice to. He cleared his throat and said loudly,

"Care for another dance, doll?"

"Of course," the secretary replied with a flirty smile as the couple rose and moved to the dance floor again. As she passed the blonde threw Yori a superior sneer. Yori responded by drawing back her lips and snarling in that particular way that she knew twisted her features into a nice menacing expression. Her wings flared slightly in warning and her fingertips glowed, her tail lashing.

The secretary went white and hustled her date away. Smirking, Yori sat back in her chair and tried to ignore how much that last comment from the blonde hurt.

"That face isn't going to make you any friends."

Yori looked up to find Steve sitting down in the chair beside her. Yori flicked her eyes over him, savoring the look of him in uniform – there really was something to be said for a man in uniform, and particularly a man with Steve's shoulders.

"I'm not here to make friends," Yori replied firmly, turning away from him before she got any more distracted.

"You're doing it anyway, though," Steve said, nodding to the men by the bar. Dum Dum and Limey were sipping beers while Morita downed a shot like a champ.

"I wonder if they have sake," Yori mused, standing up and drifting forwards. Steve immediately rose and followed her, their combined presence more than enough to clear a path across the floor to the bar.

"Hey, Cap!" Dugan waved cheerfully as Steve made his way over.

"There's our favorite demon!" Falsworth was already clearly a little buzz because he reached out and pulled a startled Yori into a one-armed hug.

"Let her go before she takes a limb off," Steve scolded gently, pulling Yori free while Dugan and Morita laughed. Yori huffed and straightened a skirt.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you look like a girl before," Morita mused as he looked her over. He gestured to her lower half. "You've got legs!"

Yori sucked in her cheeks but couldn't bring herself to be offended by that remark. "Yes, sometimes I even walk on them."

"No shit?" Dum Dum sniggered, then quickly corrected himself. "I mean, uh…"

"Say whatever the hell you want," Yori replied carelessly as she scanned the lines of bottles and glasses on the table. Her eyes lit up as she spotted a bottle of pear sake, a favorite of hers, and seized it up triumphantly, pouring herself a shot. She raised her glass to the men.

"Kanpai," she said brightly and tossed it back easily, smacking her lips in contentment.

"Well now, who'd have thought you were a drinker?" Dugan asked in amusement.

"Far more than you are," Yori replied smoothly as she poured another shot and raised it to her lips.

"Care to test that?"

Yori paused with the glass at her lips. "Are you challenging me to a drinking game?" she asked calmly, sitting down firmly in a chair and beckoning Dugan over. He grinned, grabbed a bottle of bourbon, and joined her.

"This should be good," Morita grinned as he turned and leaned against the wall to watch.

"This should be a mess," Steve corrected as he watched Falsworth smoothly talk a girl into a dance.

Dum Dum and Yori got down to business with Morita and Steve as their audience, the pair of them growing more impressed and disturbed as Dugan and Yori matched each other drink for drink. Dum Dum got more and more surprised and wary as he took drinks while Yori's smirk got wider and smugger.

Finally, unable to resist, Yori picked up the bottle of sake and, instead of pouring herself another shot, simply brought the neck of the bottle to her lips and began to drain it in long draughts, her throat working smoothly as Dugan, Steve, and Morita watched in awe.

Yori set the bottle down, her eyes still completely clear and her smirk firmly in place.

"Perhaps now would be the time to mention that I metabolize alcohol so quickly I would have to drink most of a distillery before I got drunk," she said. Dugan groaned and buried his head in his arms as Morita and Steve laughed.

"You got him on that one!" Morita laughed, slapping Yori on the shoulder. Her eyes glinted proudly.

A brunette drifted by on the arm of a soldier, making their way to the buffet. She sniffed and nudged her date, nodding to Yori, whose hand was still on the neck of her bottle.

"What a crude little monster she is," the woman simpered.

Steve was able to watch as Yori's content expression slid off and a scowl fixed itself firmly on her features.

"I'm off now, I think," Yori said, rising and moving through the couples.

"Was it something I said?" Morita asked in confusion.

"Nothing you said," Steve assured him before hustling off after Yori. The truth was he doubted she'd appreciate him trying to make her feel better but he still wanted to try. This was supposed to be a good night, a time for everyone in the SSR to let off some steam and enjoy themselves before the real world made itself violently known again. He just wished Yori could enjoy her night as well.

She had taken up the table in the corner again, sending the previous occupants running with just her presence. Steve saw her glaring after them as he sat down next to him.

"You know, you can't blame them when you act like that," Steve pointed out gently.

"They see what they see when they look at me," Yori replied, and her voice was weary and bitter. "It's easier if I wear it as armor than let it be used as a sword against me. I learned that a long time ago. They look at me and they see a monster. They expect a monster. So I give them one."

"And how does that help?" Steve attempted to reason.

"Oh, it doesn't," Yori replied easily. "But it's easier to accept that that's the reason why no one would be caught dead near me than the fact that there's something wrong with me."

Yori's eyes widened. She hadn't meant to say that aloud. She hadn't meant to ever admit that to anyone and yet here it was spilling out to Steve despite the fact that she hadn't really known him all that long. She cursed him for being so kind, for actually caring about her and making her open up to him. If ever a person had a chance to break her it was probably Steve.

She was grateful when Bucky joined them at their table, balancing glasses of punch between his hands. He handed them out and sat down, face happy as he watched Josie dance through the crowd with Peggy, laughing and smiling.

"You still determined to marry her?" Steve asked his friend lightly. Normally he wouldn't have said that in front of a girl's friend but he was confident that Yori could be trusted to keep her mouth shut.

"More determined than ever," Bucky agreed with a smile as Josie lifted Peggy into the air with a joyful laugh. "I'm never going to find a more perfect woman so I figure I'd better get her before someone else realizes how wonderful she is and tries to steal her away."

"Her father's right over there," Steve said, nodding to Thomas Ealum, who was standing with his scowling second wife in a corner.

"Approach in front of the gold digger and you'll have a riot on your hands," Yori advised. "And as far as the ring, she would be just as content with an interesting-looking semiprecious stone as a diamond."

Bucky laughed at that as Steve smiled and gestured to Yori. "There you go!"

"Oh and by the way," Yori added with a smirk. "I've decided I approve of you, so I won't even bother to threaten your manhood if you hurt her."

Steve gave a startled chuckle as Bucky winced. "Uh, I'm pretty sure that was a threat."

Yori smiled ominously. "When I threaten you, Barnes, you'll be more than pretty sure."

Bucky shook his head. "I'm going to go dance with my girl before Yori here takes my head off. Steve, best of luck," he said, clapping a hand on Steve's shoulder and nodding to Agent Carter knowingly. Quickly, Yori schooled her expression and forcibly ignored how much that hurt.

"You should go dance with her," Yori agreed as she watched Bucky pulled Josie into his arms for a dance.

"I'm escorting you tonight," Steve disagreed. He may have dearly wanted to dance with Peggy Carter, more than he'd ever wanted to dance with any woman, but he also would feel like a punk if he abandoned Yori to her own devices to night, not only for her sake but for whoever she'd take her feelings out on.

"But you'd rather be escorting her," Yori said and the swift bite in the words set Steve back a little. Yori glanced at him sideways, her lips curving down slightly. He opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. "Don't lie, it's obvious really. Did you know your heartbeat noticeably picks up around her?"

Steve jolted, blushing. "You can… hear that?"

"If it's very quiet and I'm paying attention," Yori replied with a shrug. "There are also visible signs – dilating pupils, rapid breathing, sweaty palms. All common symptoms being in love."

Steve blushed harder. "I don't… I mean she's a great lady but I, uh, I don't really… I mean I…"

"Steve." Her voice was softer than he'd ever heard it and that more than anything else was what jerked Steve out of his splutter. Yori's eyes were soft and understanding. She was even smiling as she nodded to Peggy. "Go on. I can entertain myself elsewhere," she said, rising with her punch in hand.

"If you're sure," Steve said, grateful she didn't seem to mind him leaving her. Yori nodded. Again, her presence alone cleared a path through the crowd for her as Steve made his way around the edge of the dance floor, a little more respectful of the dancers than she. He had wanted to dance with Peggy since pretty much the first time he'd laid eyes on her, strutting down the line of soldiers like she owned and place, red lips pouting and dark eyes flashing.

But as he passed the refreshment table, a hand darted out. He was surprised to see Josie on the other end of the hand, looking at him a little desperately.

"Steve, take Yori for a dance," she requested. Steve blinked, feeling like an idiot. He hadn't even asked the woman he was escorting for a dance and there he was about to run off for a dance with another woman. If his mother was alive she would have boxed his ears and shouted something Irish at him that he didn't understand the meaning of but was definitely angry.

"Oh, I guess… I suppose I could." He offered her a hand. "Yori?"

Yori blinked and flushed. She placed her hand in his wordlessly and let Steve pull her out onto the dance floor.

Yori felt a bit guilty for being so pleased that Steve had her in his arms instead of Peggy Carter. She had nothing against the woman – admired her steel, in fact – but she was also a bit jealous of how easily Peggy managed to get everyone to like her, a skill Yori had never had and she doubted highly she would ever master.

"I should mention, perhaps, that I've never danced like this before, Yori said quietly as the music began, growling at herself internally as her color rose when Steve placed a hand on her waist. He was so much taller than her that it was almost awkward but just on this side of not. In fact, if Yori were prone to such things, she might say they fit together quite nicely. But Yori wasn't prone to thinking things like that, she told herself quite firmly.

"I'm not much of a dancer either," Steve assured her. "We can at least be uncomfortable together."

"That's something I suppose," Yori said. She was held just slightly too far from Steve for the dance to be very close and was trying very hard not to be offended by that fact.

"Have you ever danced before?" Steve asked curiously. "You're doing pretty well."

"I've been watching the dancers all night," Yori replied. "But I have danced before, just not like this."

"Then how?" Steve pressed, trying desperately to alleviate the tension in the air between them with conversation. He could tell Yori wasn't extremely comfortable on the dance floor so he held her at arm's length, confident she wouldn't appreciate being held close like most girls.

"At festivals, mostly," Yori admitted. "When I was a child. There was a woman who took care of me for a time. She didn't mind my appearance," Yori said, smiling nostalgically as she recalled the old widow Midori who had been a bright spot of her childhood, one of few. "When it was time for Obon she would cover me up and I would dance with the others. I danced to Soran bushi a time or two," Yori recalled. "It's nothing like this though," she said, nodding to the others.

"What's Obon?" Steve asked curiously.

"A festival of the dead," Yori explained. There was more to it than that, but that was enough for the time being. "I liked festivals because there was so much going on that people didn't notice one odd girl wearing a mask and covering herself. We'd eat festival food."

"Do you miss it?" Steve asked.

"The food or the dancing?" Yori asked drily. "The dancing, no. The food… sometimes." This sparked an idea that she made a mental note to take up with Howard later seeing as she'd need his help with it.

"If you could have one thing to eat right now from home, what would it be?" Steve asked.

Yori thought for a moment before answering. "Dango. What about you?"

Steve smiled. "I'd like a cheeseburger, to be honest," he admitted sheepishly.

Yori laughed at that, actually laughed. "I should have known," she chuckled, covering her mouth with a hand in an instinctive response to try and hide her pointed canines.

Howard made his appearance then, holding a glance and announcing the coming Christmas into a microphone. As the crowd began the countdown Yori pulled herself out of the moment, telling herself that it meant nothing because it really didn't. Nothing would change, it would just take her that much longer to get that piece of her heart back after this.

She was a fool. Why on earth would sweet soldier Steve want anything to do with her?

"Merry Christmas, taichō," Yori said softly, before releasing him and fading back into the crowd.


	37. Morning

Chapter 37:Morning

I woke up with a yawn and stretched luxuriously, pulling the covers tighter over my shoulders and smiling slightly when my fingers brushed the chain of my new necklace. I hummed happily as an arm draped over my waist curled tighter and opened my eyes. Bucky was still asleep, that peaceful look on his face. I smiled and began placing gentle kisses on the side of his throat. His laughter vibrated through me as he woke with a grin. I loved that, that I made him wake up with a smile on his face.

"Morning," Bucky husked.

"Mornin'," I replied, before going back to my work on his throat and jaw. Buck sighed and held me tighter.

"What's got you so loving this early in the morning?" he teased.

I raised an eyebrow and asked archly, "Wan' me tah stop?"

Bucky shook his head, still refusing to open his eyes. "I'll shut up now."

"Wise choice," I said, and smiled and kept right on dropping feather-light kisses on his neck and jaw line, moving up to his cheek. That was all I could reach though and I wasn't content with that. With a huff I dragged myself onto my hands and knees, laying back down on top of him so that I could get at his whole face. Bucky grinned as I landed kiss after kiss randomly. One above his brow, one just in front of his ear, another on his chin, another on his eyelid. I purposefully avoided his lips and he definitely noticed because he started trying to catch mine. Considering he still hadn't opened his eyes yet, his aim was terrible.

"I could get used to waking up like this," Bucky said, happily coiling his arms around my waist and pulling me tighter against him. I shifted a little so that I could reach to plant a kiss at his hair line.

"I could get used to doing it," I agreed as I moved to kiss his left ear. I surprised him with a little nip at the lobe and giggled into his chest when he finally opened his eyes in surprise.

"Merry Christmas," I laughed.

"And a happy New Year," Bucky finished before kissing me firmly on the lips. I squealed as he flipped us so that he was on top and I was on the mattress. The covers pooled appealingly around his waist as he pushed himself up to stare down at me. I wrapped on arm around his waist and cupped his cheek with the other.

"Have I mentioned yet this mornin' that I love yah?" I asked, smiling at him softly. Mornings with Bucky were my favorite time of day, all softness and warmth and love. After a particularly rough day in the lab with Howard nothing made me feel better that climbing into bed with him, knowing that he'd been there if my nightmares struck again and that soon I'd get to wake up in his arms.

"No. Have I mentioned yet that I love you?" Bucky replied, letting some of his weight fall onto me as he began to gently nibble at my throat.

"No," I said, my voice going breathy as he worked magic on my skin. "We need tah work on 'at."

"Love you," Bucky murmured into my throat as he brought his tongue into play.

"Love you too- ah!" I gasped and arched as he bit the spot where my neck met my throat that drove me crazy. Bucky had found this spot ages ago but he rarely used it against me. He soothed the bite with his tongue as I unconsciously draped a leg over his hip.

"Not fair!" I protested weakly as he swept his lips up to kiss and nibble on my ear. I countered by lightly coiling my fingers in his hair and tugging gently. Sure enough, I drew a low moan from Bucky. He attacked my neck with renewed fervor, working from my collar bone up my jaw and to my mouth. Lips, tongues, and teeth clashed and I was surprised when a few minutes later I realized that my hands had somehow wormed their way under his shirt and my fingers were digging into his sculpted back. I groaned as he swept his tongue along the roof of my mouth and countered by sucking his bottom lip lightly, digging my nails in just a little. Bucky sucked in a hiss of air and arched against me. Something hard pressed into my thigh. I gasped.

I was uncertain as I asked, "Is that…"

"It's not my hand…" Bucky huffed, lifting off me a little bit.

"Oh. Oh." That was all I could say. I was torn between blushing prudishness and pride that I'd managed to bring him to that point. Torn between whether to draw a line or dive right into something new. Both ideas were equally appealing.

"I won't make you do anything," Bucky was quick to say when he felt me stop kissing him back. He looked down at me in concern, like he was worried I'd go further than I wanted to.

"Oh, I know," I assured him, kissing the tip of his nose fondly. "I'm just trying to decide. We really shouldn't," I mused, biting my lip. "But I do… I do kind of want to," I admitted, going bright red. "If… If I wanted to go further, would you mind?" I asked.

All that I'd ever heard had assured me that guys only had one thing on their minds and while I had strong evidence pressing against my leg that in this particular instance that was true I also wanted to know how Bucky felt on the subject. I knew he was a ladies man and while I knew I wasn't the first girl he'd kissed or touched like this I had no idea how far he'd gone with any of those other women. He could be just as inexperienced as me in that area.

"Belle, if you wanted me to, I'd have you in a heartbeat," Bucky groaned, pressing a little closer once more. "But only if you want to. I want you to think about this when we're not… like this." He rolled off of me, showing what he meant. "It's easy to get caught up in the moment," Bucky reasoned. "I don't want you saying yes if you don't mean it."

I looked at him. My body was still humming but it was fading into a pleasant tingle. I rolled onto my side and kissed his shoulder, draping an arm across his chest. I huffed and asked, "Will you tell me what I did to deserve you so that I can do it again?"

Bucky laughed at that and opened his mouth to answer when a knock sounded on the door. Both of our eyes widened.

"Hide," Bucky urged me. While neither of us were ashamed about how we spent our nights there were plenty of people who'd have something to say on the subject if they found out. As Bucky stood up and headed of the door I rolled across the mattress and dropped into a crouch on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah?" Bucky asked, and then in surprise asked, "Yori?"

I heard Yori sigh as I peered out from the foot of the bed curiously. Yori stood in the door with a pile of clothes in her arms, a small pouch and a pair of shoes on top.

"Josie's father is looking for her," Yori explained. "I've got Howard running interference but since she's _clearly_ not here, if you could _possibly_ find her, I expect she'll want new clothes." She thrust the bundle into Bucky's hands and turned on her heel.

"Morning Josie," she called as she left. I laughed as I stood up from behind the bed.

"Morning Yori," I muttered, shaking my head fondly. Bucky looked concerned as he hustled over to me with the bundle.

"If your dad's looking for you then we need to hurry."

"Relax, Yori said that Howard was running interference," I reminded him, patting his cheek. "We've got a minute."

Thankfully, Bucky's room had a small bathroom attached. I thankfully made use of it to dress before trading places and letting Bucky in the bathroom. I sat on his bed and dug through the pouch, pulling out my makeup, hairbrush, and a small box of bobby pins. Yori knew me well, I mused as I flipped my hair forwards and began to drag the brush through it.

"That looks like it takes forever," Bucky announced as he came out of the bathroom dressed in slacks and combat boots, a grey button-down with a few buttons open and suspenders completing the look.

"Not as long as you might think," I disagreed as I expertly coiled my hair up into a bun, pulling out pin after pin and sliding it in. "Hold my mirror for me?" I requested of Bucky, offering him the compact. He took it and sat down on the bed next to me, holding up my mirror as I patted on a light dusting of powder and blush.

He stuck his tongue out at me, then scrunched his eyes closed and smiled ridiculously wide. His tongue poked out of the side of his mouth as he opened his eyes and screwed up his nose.

"Stop it," I chided, trying my hardest not to laugh and end up with lipstick smeared across my face. I held up the tube warningly. "Or I'll use this on you, mister."

Bucky shielded himself with the compact. "Understood."

I finished my makeup and kissed Bucky goodbye, smiling in amusement when I left a smear of red on his mouth from the fresh lipstick. He'd figure it out later, I was confident. I took my leave and hustled back through the halls into my room, dropping my cosmetics back into my trunk and tucking away my nightgown and robe in the hamper. I glanced up at the mirror hanging on my wall and smiled, touching the necklace around my throat fondly, determined that I would never take it off but for missions.

I grabbed my notebook and sat down with my ankles crossed at the table, busying myself with work and waiting for my father to make his way free of Howard and come find me.

* * *

It wasn't hard to follow the sound of Howard Stark, babbling on about some evening in Lucerne he'd had three years ago. Bucky rounded the corner and immediately felt sorry for Thomas Ealum as he found the man maintaining an expression of polite interest.

Howard was visibly relieved when Bucky rounded the corner.

"And anyway when it's all said and done if you've seen one set of contortionist twins, you've seen them all. Well, have a good day!" Howard said, snapping off a salute before leaving Thomas Ealum in his dust.

"That man's a few ants short of a picnic," Thomas muttered before turning around. He blinked when he saw Bucky standing there and smiling. "You didn't hear that," he said sternly.

"Hear what, sir?" Bucky asked innocently.

"Good man," Thomas nodded in approval. "You might be able to answer my question, Bucky. My wife and I are getting ready to leave with Nevade and I want to say my goodbyes to Jojo before we leave. Have you seen her?"

"Not this morning," Bucky said, trying his best not to fidget and give anything away. Yori may not be threatening his manhood but he was almost as afraid of Josie's father as he was of her. He was pretty sure he'd pulled it off, because Josie's father didn't look suspicious, just frustrated.

"Where _is_ that girl?" he huffed.

"I don't want to hold you up, sir," Bucky said respectfully. "But I have something I want to talk to you about."

Thomas stared at him. Bucky shifted uncomfortably as they man sucked in his cheeks, then blew them out.

"Well," he finally said, "if it's what I think you want to talk about we better not do this in a hallway."

"My room's not far from here," Bucky said, gesturing for Thomas to follow him through the halls. They stepped into Bucky's room and Bucky took a deep breath before turning to face Thomas.

"Sir," he began confidently, "I'd like your permission to marry your daughter."

Thomas reached up and scratched at his temple. "Yes, I expected you did," he said quietly."Tell me, how long have you been waiting to ask that?"

Bucky laughed a little. "Sir, I've wanted to marry Josie since the minute I met her."

Thomas chuckled at that. "Yes, I felt the same way about her mother." He sighed. "You know, from the time Josie was born she's always been curious. She's a scientist to the core. I was surprised when I heard she'd abandoned her test tubes to go out to the front, but then I realized that for the first time, she was being allowed to do whatever she wanted. And more than that, she was making good choices. Am I happy she puts herself in danger? No. But do I trust her to be safe and come home? I do.

"She's proven she can be trusted to make her own decisions. So you don't need to ask me anything. It's her choice you've got to wait for. If she says yes, then you have my blessing. If she says no, then I will beat you off with a stick."

Bucky beamed widely. It was all in place. He had her father's blessing and he was pretty confident he had Nevade's approval as well as Yori's, which mattered almost as much. Josie's father had been the only one he wasn't sure about, but now he had the official go-ahead to ask Josie the question he'd been wanting to ask her for over a year now.

"Thank you sir," Bucky said, relieved, a smile stretching across his face.

"Now hold on," Thomas said firmly. Bucky froze. "I've got one condition."

"What's that?" Bucky asked, wary again.

Thomas snorted. "Stop acting like I just asked for your firstborn. I'd just like to request a long engagement. If this war ends and I find out that my Jojo walked down the aisle without me I'll be miffed."

Bucky laughed at that. "Sir, I'm pretty sure Josie would beat me with a stick if I suggested having a ceremony without you there."

Thomas groaned. "And for the love of god, quit calling me sir! I'm not your commanding officer, I'm going to be your father-in-law!"

"She's still gotta say yes," Bucky pointed out.

Thomas looked at him pointedly. "She'll say yes," he deadpanned. "I've never seen my girl take an interest in any man until you and she's not the type to fall for the first soldier who winks at her. She'll say yes."

Thomas clapped a hand on Bucky's shoulder. He nodded to the bottle of whiskey still sitting on the table and the glasses form the night before. A red lip print was extremely visible on one. Bucky winced slightly.

"Uh…"

"I'm not going to judge you," Thomas said slowly, but the way he was painfully squeezing Bucky's shoulder disagreed. "But I will say this… If you do her wrong, there won't be a place on earth you can hide from me." Thomas smiled saccharinely and slapped Bucky heartily on the back. "Welcome to the family!" he said jovially before turning and strolling from the room.

Bucky groaned and clapped a hand to his face. "That family's gonna kill me," he muttered, before heading out.


	38. The Boy in Auschwitz

Chapter 38: The Boy from Auschwitz

My life fell into a predictable pattern, or as predictable as it could get in a war zone. When we were at base I trained with Yori and the Commandoes. When I wasn't with them I was writing letters to my family or helping Howard in the lab. At night, I went to Bucky's room. Things still hadn't progressed but that didn't change the fact that we both had considerably fewer nightmares when we were together than when we were apart.

When we were out on a mission it was a mish-mash of sleeping in abandoned buildings and barns or in the middle of the woods or catching Zs in the back of the bouncing truck with my head leaning on Bucky's shoulder and his arm around me. Then was the blaze of bullets and blood that was the actual raids before the peaceful aftermath of our trip back to base.

We found more bodies of mutants with the paperwork gathered from the other makeshift labs. Some were off on their own and some were in buildings occupied by HYDRA. From the documents we'd found we knew that the Red Skull was funding this Klaus Schmidt and giving him lab space in exchange for whatever information he uncovered. They were partners only in the loosest sense.

It was HYDRA, not Schmidt, who was the main priority of the SSR, however, so we spent more time blowing up factories and warehouses than labs. Still, I felt more vindicated after taking out a half-dozen scientists and the skeleton guard of a lab than after tearing through an entire troop or two of HYDRA soldiers.

We'd just come back from a raid on a one of Schmidt's labs. The place used to be a grain house back in the day but thanks to us it was a pile of rubble. None of the mutants had still been alive, but as per usual we had boxes of paperwork with new information loaded up in the back of the truck and a heavy pall over us from digging the graves earlier.

Yori and I were preparing dinner when it happened. Over the sound of the others talking quietly I heard screaming echoing through the trees. Abandoning the soup I stood up sharply and turned to the north, the direction none of us had dared to look since we made camp.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, standing up sharply and lifting his shield readily.

"I hear screaming," I said softly, expression pained as I looked north. There were winces all around the camp.

"That's not so surprising," Falsworth said gently, "considering where we are."

"It's a child," I said, my voice breaking at the sheer pain and fear I could hear in the screams. They hadn't stopped, just long, drawn out shrieks of agony that tore into my soul.

Dum Dum nodded in the direction of the screams. "It's Auschwitz," he said bitterly, and a grey cloud descended over us at the mention of the name.

"But it's a child," I insisted. "We have to do something."

The aggrieved look on Steve's face told me that he wished to god he could agree with me. "We have our orders. We'd need a lot more men to be able to take on Auschwitz."

I sighed. "You're right," I admitted, even though it killed me to say. I sat back down by the fire and wrapped my arms around myself. Bucky got up from where he was sliding more bullets into a magazine and moved to sit next to me, wrapping an arm around him. I smiled humorlessly at him in thanks but even he could knock the cold out of my bones as the screams continued. I winced and selfishly hoped they'd stop soon even though I fear what it meant if they did.

Yori placed a hand on my shoulder. Her voice was comforting as she said, "Konban ni watakushitachi wo iku." To anyone else it would have sounded like some kind of platitude to make me feel better but I spoke the language. Tonight, we go. Yori was on board.

I looked up at her. I could tell by the way her jaw tensed and she angled her head slightly that she could hear the screams too and wanted to help whoever was screaming as much as I did. I think we both had the same gut-wrenching suspicion. That whoever was doing the screaming was like us, a mutant. That walking away now would mean abandoning one of our own.

Dinner was a somber affair. Bucky lingered close to me and so did Yori as we ate dry rations – we were too close for a fire. When the time came to turn in for the night, Yori and I volunteered.

Bucky kissed my temple sympathetically as Steve looked at us. He didn't seem suspicious, just a little surprised.

"Are you sure you want to?" Steve asked uncertainly. "Maybe if you're asleep…"

"I won't be able to sleep," I replied and I knew that even if I didn't plan to rescue the shrieking child I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. The screaming had stopped for periods but it kept coming back. It had cut off abruptly almost an hour ago and I worried what that might mean.

Bucky kissed me goodnight and tucked himself into his bedroll as Yori and I perched on large rocks, seemingly taking up the guard. As we waited for the others to drift off I considered what we were doing. Our plan – well, it was nonexistent. We were going to follow our ears into Auschwitz to find the screaming child and it was going to break our hearts to leave everyone else behind, despite the fact that we had no choice. Steve was right – we needed more people to liberate the whole camp.

Not to mention it was ridiculously dangerous. The two of us against a whole camp of Nazis? They weren't HYDRA but they were still no joke. I was confident I would come out of this with a bullet in me, probably more than one, and Yori would probably be hurt as well.

But the decision had been made the first time we found a mutant lab. When we walked in and none of them were alive and we found out what was gone on, Yori and I had both promised each other, ourselves, and other mutants that we would try and save as many of our kind as we could. Thus far, we'd been able to save distressingly few of them.

I prayed Paulette and Matthaus were safe as Dum Dum's snores started up and Yori stood, her eyes fixed on me meaningfully.

It was time.

* * *

It was surprisingly easy to get into Auschwitz, in the end. The concern was people breaking out, not in. Yori grabbed a hold of me and, when the search light had passed, she flew us onto the roof of a building near the edge of camp where we could sit and wait for the screaming to start again, hunkered down in the shadow of a chimney.

All around us was a scene from hell. People too emaciated to be alive, and yet they lived. Their own clothes looked too heavy for their skinny frames. Women and men with their heads shaved to prevent lice, people huddled together to keep out the chill. Children gathered together with wide, staring eyes that saw nothing but horror. I forced myself to look though, made myself watch as the prisoners were herded around the camp.

"This is hell," I said hoarsely, my stomach churning.

"This is what happens when someone decides that they have a right to power over another," Yori replied darkly. "Yes, this is hell."

I twitched. We were not on any strict schedule but I knew that the longer we were gone the more chance there was that one of the Commandoes would wake up and realize we were gone. It wouldn't take long for them to realize where we'd gone and then they'd come for us, risking themselves. I couldn't let that happen.

When the screaming started again it was almost a blessing because it was from the building we were standing on. I looked to Yori in surprise and we glanced down at our feet, then around the camp. It was still dark and would be for several more hours. We waited until the searchlights passed once more and then Yori dangled over the side of the building. Working quickly, she jimmied the window and slipped inside. I followed her in.

My lips twisted into a sneer at the rich carpets and wood paneling on the walls. Whoever lived and worked here lived in the lap of luxury while not a dozen feet away others were treated as less than animals. It made me want to rip the throat from whoever lived there with my teeth, and I meant that literally.

The screaming was still going and it was easy to follow. I was surprised no one was going to investigate until I realized with a jolt why they weren't – everyone knew what was going on, and no one cared.

The shrieks were so loud outside of a door that I had to cover my ears with a wince to keep them from throbbing in pain. The door wasn't even locked, I noticed in surprise when Yori was able to open the door with ease. We swung the door open and stepped inside.

The room was part office, part horror story. In front of us was a large oak desk with filings cabinets and shelves lining the walls around it. The right half of the room was walled off by glass and within was a white-tiled room with metal tables and straps. Torture implements in the guise of medical equipment hung on the walls and glittered on surgical trays.

Only one table was occupied. On it lay a small, brunette boy, no older than eleven or twelve. He seemed to be unconscious, which would explain why the screaming had stopped. Straps ran across his chest, stomach, wrists, ankles, throat, and forehead. Even if he were awake he would have only been able to move a few millimeters.

Yori and I exchanged heartbroken glances and rushed to the door into the glass room. Yori tugged it open and we flew inside to the boy's side. He seemed okay, at least physically. There was a bandage around his right forearm and on his left was inked 214782. His eyes were shut and he might have been sleeping if not for the horrifying surroundings.

"Leibchen," I murmured, cautiously touching the boy's shoulder. I had no way of knowing if he had internal injuries or if he was screaming for other reasons. The moment I touched him though, he came awake and screamed once more. I quickly pressed a hand over his mouth and held a finger before my mouth in the universal sign for silence. The boy's eyes were wide and fearful and blurry but he seemed to understand that much at least because he fell silent.

"Lass uns gehen," I murmured to him. "Wir sind Freunde."

The boy was obviously suspicious but he didn't seem all that unnerved by Yori's strange appearance or by me when I pushed a bone blade from my finger and slit through the ropes holding his head and neck down as Yori gently stroked his hair and hummed soothingly to keep him calm. She didn't speak German and I wasn't sure the boy spoke English, so there was no guarantee they could even communicate. I murmured endearments and encouragements as I carefully cut the straps away.

"Well well. I had one subject and two more walk into my lab of their own free will."

Yori and I whipped around, both of us startled. We'd been so focused on the boy and making him feel safe that we hadn't bothered to watch the door. Standing on the other side of the glass was a man with lines around his eyes and grey at his temple. He wore glasses and tweed and with a jolt I was reminded of Dr. Erskine's usual style. But this was not the friendly German doctor who'd encouraged me when no one else had - this was a monster.

Yori dove for the door with a monstrous shriek as the man pressed a button on a remote pulled from his pocket. He held onto the handle and, to my shock, Yori wasn't able to overpower him. The door stayed firmly shut despite her attempts to yank it open and the man just smiled benignly at us.

"Gas!" I shrieked as the smell hit me. That's what the button had done. He was gassing us. He didn't need to fight us, all he had to do was keep the door shut long enough for the gas to work its magic and then he'd be free to waltz in and do whatever he wanted with us.

Again Yori screamed and instead of tugging on the door she raised a fist to punch the glass. Her fist bounced of it and I shrieked in rage as I realized that it was not normal glass. My vision swam and my thoughts went murky as the gas began to work its way into my system. After a moment or two of clean air I would have been able to purge it, but not if the input was continuous.

Yori collapsed with a weak curse as the gas began to work on her. A moment later I dropped to my knees, clinging desperately to the boy's table in an attempt to pull myself up. Through bleary eyes I could see the doctor calmly donning a gas mask, three soldiers doing the same. When had they arrived? I hadn't smelled them. Then again I couldn't smell anything but gas.

The door open and shut firmly. I kicked off the ground, trying to break for the door, but my limbs would cooperate. I managed an awkward face plant onto the ground as the soldiers sneered. They stepped over me to get to Yori.

"Not quite down yet, are you?" the monster with the glasses said, kneeling next to me. He reached out to touch my cheek. I watched in helpless agony as Yori was dragged past me. There weren't enough tables so she was tossed into a chair as the men whipped off their belts to use as restraints. Yori's head lolled sadly.

The men turned to me next. Again I tried to swat them away. They laughed as I managed a weak wave of my arm in protest. But I was close, very close, to an ankle. With all the strength I could pull together I lunged and sunk my teeth into flesh, cloth, and leather. The man screamed as my teeth sharpened within his flesh and dug in deeper at my bleary-minded order. I heard the monster shout something in protest and then the blast of a gun once, twice, three times. Bullets slammed home into me but I didn't let go, tears running down my cheeks from pain and fear.

"Well, well!" the monster was standing over me, delighted. "You are a marvel! Shot and yet you do not give up. Wounded, and yet you heal. You are fascinating, my dear."

I finally released my grip on the soldier's ankle long enough to say, "Go to hell."

The monster was laughing as I faded into oblivion.

* * *

When I woke up I was strapped down like the boy had been. Bright light burned into my eyes. I slanted them, as much to try and take stock of my surroundings as to try and get away from the light. The boy was on his table, staring at me fearfully. Yori was in the corner, looking more furious than I'd ever seen her as she struggled and fought against the bindings but I could tell by the fuzziness in her eyes and the lack of strength in her gestures that they'd given her something to keep her subdued.

"You're awake!"

I looked to my left and saw the monster looming over me. He was wearing a white coat and a mask now, his hair tucked under a cap. His hands trailed over the scalpels on one of the standing trays with an eagerness that made me shiver.

"I hope you don't mind starting us off," he began, like he was asking if I minded sitting by the kitchen at a restaurant. Polite and only slightly apologetic. "But you see, now that I know some of what you can do, I am curious! Your friend there, she will be a fine encore as well."

Yori bit out a Japanese curse and the man shrugged carelessly, obviously not understanding what she'd just said.

"Now, this would go easier if you gave me a little information on your abilities before we began," the doctor said. "As you can see, I've already gotten you ready."

For the first time I realized that my shirt was gone, my top covered only by a thin sheet. The man lifted a scalpel from the table and observed it curiously.

"Go to hell," I spat at him and roared in his face. The man laughed.

"No, I think not. You see, my dear…" He whipped the sheet back and placed the scalpel under my collarbone. I inhaled sharply as I recognized the placement. A standard Y-incision. How many times had I used variations of it in dissection labs in school? He was going to cut me open and dissect me alive.

"You are the one in hell. Me? I am in heaven."

The knife cut down and the pain began.

* * *

 **Leibchen – sweetheart**

 **Lass uns gehen – let's go**

 **Wir sind Freunde – We are friends**


	39. Escaping Auschwitz

**Hey guys! I know I'm a day early, but I'm going out of town and I will be spending most of Wednesday in airports, where the internet connection is not the best. I wanted to make sure you guys got this while I still had access to a decent connection. So, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 39: Escaping Auschwitz  


The Howling Commandoes were no match for Auschwitz – normally. But they weren't going after Auschwitz on the whole. They were going after one building near the edge of it where feminine screams rattled the windows and furious shouts in Japanese cut through the air. A child was yelling under it all.

"Bucky, don't!" Steve said firmly as his friend tried to charge forward, his expression utter agony.

"She's in there, and god knows what they're doing to her!" Bucky whisper- shouted in reply. "They could _kill_ her! Steve, don't _ask_ me to hang back!"

"We need a plan," Jones tried to reason with him, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Bucky shrugged him off and rounded on him furiously.

"You plan, I'm going to go get her _back!_ " Bucky snarled viciously. He tried to lunge forward again and Steve had no choice but to wrap his arms around Bucky and lift him bodily from the ground to keep him from running in. Bucky thrashed and kicked. His foot caught Steve in the knee painfully but he didn't let him down. He had already potentially lost two team members tonight, be damned if he was losing his best friend as well.

At that moment the screaming cut short suddenly. Like a switch had been flipped, Josie's screams stopped. Yori's shouting stopped and the child fell silent.

"No," Falsworth breathed. Bucky went limp in Steve's grasp. Cautious, hardly daring to breathe for his own fear of what that silence meant, Steve let Bucky down. He seemed barely able to stand on his own two feet, sagging weakly against a tree.

"If she's gone," Bucky said hoarsely, unable to adequately explain the gaping sense of loss that had just opened up in his stomach. "If she's gone I'll never forgive you, Steve."

Those words hurt like a punch in the gut. Perhaps that was why Steve didn't notice when Bucky lunged forwards towards the building.

"Damn it!" Steve hissed. "Jones, take out anyone who gets to close. Limey, you too. Dernier, get us a way out. Dum Dum, Morita, with me!" he ordered. The men split in all different directions.

Bucky had hit the side of the building. With desperation he was able to use the window sills and frames as a ladder, scrambling awkwardly up the side of the building. He was nearly to an open window on the top floor when Steve and the others hit the bottom. Steve swore again as Bucky wormed his way through the window.

Bucky stared around, looking for some sign of where the screams had come from. He needed to know where his Belle was, because if she was gone, if his Belle was dead and he hadn't been able to save her, he wouldn't be able to face himself in the mirror.

A man emerged from a room at the end of the hall. He wore a lab coat covered in enough blood to turn Bucky's stomach and when the door was open he could hear sobbing. The man was whistling as he strode down the hall, his gloves dripping blood as he peeled them off.

"What were you thinking?"

Steve piled through the window, a panting Morita and Dum Dum behind him. Steve grabbed Bucky by the collar and lifted him so that his heels were off the floor. Bucky barely noticed. The raging part of his mind wanted to go after that bloody man and tear him to shreds. The other broken-hearted part of him wanted to go through that door.

"They're in there," Bucky said, words spilling out in a rush, eyes fixed on the door. "They're in there."

Steve wasn't quite sure what to do in the face of Bucky's mindless fear. Uncertain, he let Bucky fall back flat-footed and watched his friend stagger down the hall towards the door he couldn't rip his eyes away from. Bucky opened the door and walked inside, the others following him.

At first he was confused – it was just an office, where had that man come from? Where had the blood come from? And most importantly, where was Josie?

But then he saw the glassed-in section of the room. Yori was slumped in a chair held in place by belts, her head rolling wearily. A boy who barely looked to be in his teens was strapped to a table, staring in wordless horror at the medical slab next to him. And on that table was…

"No!" the ragged shout tore out of Bucky's throat as he threw himself at the door, yanking it open and flinging himself inside at Josie's side. Or rather what was left of her.

Josie's eyes were wide and staring at the ceiling, agony and horror etched on her features. Her chest was cut open, the flesh peeled back and her ribs broken off and only half-healed. The ribs were all in a silver bowl next to her. There was more than one bowl. If he'd had enough left of his mind to consider it Bucky would have realized that her liver, stomach, intestines, lungs, and most importantly, her heart, were sitting in bowls around her.

 _Belle was gone. Belle was gone. Gone, gone, gone…_

Bucky collapsed to his knees beside the table where she lay, one of his hands over her rapidly-cooling one. He was dimly conscious of Morita diving to be sick in a trashcan and Dum Dum silently crying. They didn't matter. All that mattered was Belle and that she was gone. The world was darker, he could barely breathe.

Who would tell him fascinating things he'd never even considered wanting to know? Whose nightmares would he beat back? Who would always have the perfect words? Who would he watch peer through a microscope with such utter focus? Who would look at him with those gorgeous misty grey eyes? Who would laugh at all his corny jokes and look at him like he hung the sun? Who would he hold at night? Who would he dance with? Laugh with? Who would he love, and who would love him?

"Pu' 'em 'ack…"

Steve looked up as Yori slurred, helpless in her bindings and under the influence of whatever drug they'd pumped into her. He surged forwards, tearing the belts from her ruthlessly. Yori staggered to her feet and Steve caught her before she could topple to the ground.

"Yori, you shouldn't move," he murmured in her ear. "Who knows what they gave you?"

"Doesn'… mat'er," Yori slurred, swaying forward and reaching for Josie.

"Yori, she's gone. I don't think even she can come back from this one," Steve tried to reason with her. With surprising strength, Yori's tail lashed for his eyes. He was forced to let her go or be blinded. Yori staggered forward and slammed into the boy's table. He was staring at the all in horror. Kicking himself for forgetting the boy and trying his hardest not to break down at the sound of Bucky's broken-hearted sobs, Steve moved to free the boy. Yori shoved herself off the boy's table to smash into Yori's. Her hand was shaking as she reached out and picked up Josie's stomach. Her face was pale and she looked an instant from throwing up, but nevertheless she lifted the organ in her hands and put it back into the cavity in Josie's body. She winced as it slid from her fingers and fell back with a wet plop.

"It won't help," Steve told her desperately.

"It... might…"

Bucky's voice was rough and raspy but he'd seen Josie come back to life before. Who's to say she couldn't do it again? He was sitting here on the floor sobbing mindlessly when Josie could possibly be brought back. Self-disgust and determination flowed through him in equal parts as he reached into the nearest bowl determinedly and pulled out Josie's lungs.

"There," Yori said, pointing weakly. Bucky didn't think to question Yori's knowledge of anatomy as he placed the lungs where he was told. Yori guided him in placing her liver. The others watched in silent horror as Yori and Bucky curled Josie's intestines back into her body. Finally, tenderly, Bucky pulled Josie's heart from the bowl and placed it where Yori pointed. His hands were shaking as he pulled the flaps of skin back over her chest and waited desperately for the wounds to begin to heal.

"Bucky," Steve said slowly as the seconds ticked by. "I don't think-"

"Don't say it," Bucky snapped. It was half rebuke, half plea. If Steve said it then it was possible.

"Wait," Yori said. She was leaning heavily against Steve but she seemed to be coming back to herself a little. Her speech was clearer at least.

"Belle." Bucky took Josie's hand in his, beseeching. "I need you to come back to me, honey. I need you. I need you, Josie. I've never loved anyone like I love you. Belle, please. Come on love, you're breaking my heart here," he sobbed.

"Bucky," Steve said. It was the hope in Steve's voice that made him look, watching as the skin began to knit itself together and lift as her ribs reformed.

"Thank god!" Bucky said, and pressed Josie's hand to his lips, kissing her fingers desperately. "Thank you, Belle. I love you, oh god, I love you so much," he murmured as he watched her heal, watching something like life come back to her eyes.

With a jolt and a snarl Josie woke, shooting upright on the table and ripping her hand from his grasp. A low growl rumbled in her chest. Bucky stared at her, surprised. There was nothing on her face but animalistic rage, not what he'd expected.

"Move," Yori said hoarsely.

The door opened and a soldier poked his head inside. He'd expected three captives strapped down, not a rescue party.

"Was-?"

"Move!" Yori screamed, and shoved Steve with all her might. The Commandoes followed her order and dove away as Josie lunged from the table, arms crossed in front of her. Yori hadn't been able to break the glass but Josie, with bones hard as diamond and blind rage and strength on her side, smashed through it. Shards stuck from her, the cuts already closing and forcing them out.

Frozen in terror the soldier stared at her as Josie stood up, her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl.

"Josie…" Bucky said uncertainly. His voice was the trigger that set her off. Josie lunged with a growl and not with her fists or her feet or her bones. She caught the soldier with all of her body weight and threw him into the wall. Her mouth leading, she sank her teeth into his throat. Blood spurted and poured over her as she reared her head back, ripping the front of his throat out. Josie tossed her head to the side and spat the chunk of meat from her mouth furiously before getting off the soldier. He slid to the ground, already dead.

"Tigress…"

It was Yori who moved forwards when the others were frozen in shock. Josie whipped around with a snarl on her face and blood around her mouth.

"We still need to escape from here," Yori said slowly. "All of us. You understand that, Tigress? You will get to feed, but we must go together."

"Tigress?" Steve questioned wordlessly. He didn't know who was standing in front of him at that moment but it most assuredly was not Josephine Ealum.

"Her feral side," Yori hissed to him. "Shh. Tigress," she continued. "Do you understand?"

Josie's voice was distorted by a rumble in her chest as she replied, "I understand."

Yori's smile was feral as she picked up her sword from where it had been left leaning against the office desk. She drew it with a sharp sound and raised it high.

"Then we shall take your revenge, eh?"

Tigress snarled in reply and surged out the door with Yori on her heels.

Steve, Bucky, Morita, and Dum Dum had a front row seat to the carnage that Yori and Tigress could wreak when they truly tried. They were torn between awed respect for their abilities and disgust for all the gore. Neither woman bothered trying to sneak out the window. They calmly made their way down the hallways and stairs with the men following behind.

They were not able to walk out unmolested by any means. Soldiers surged from all over as the shouts and screams of Tigress and Yori's victims echoed through the house and camp. The problem was that nothing they did could stop them. Bullets were deflected off of Yori's sword and Tigress didn't care as they drilled into her. Tigress clawed and bit, tearing out throats with her teeth and claws. Yori hacked and sliced, taking heads and severing limbs with a malevolent smile on her face.

Bullets rattled outside and they knew that the others had engaged backup rushing towards the house now. Steve prayed Dernier had an escape plan ready for them, and prayed even harder that Yori and Tigress could be persuaded to stop killing long enough to get out. He tried to cover the eyes of the boy they'd rescued with his hand to shield him from the sight but the boy merely ducked out of the way, watching the women work in awe.

Bucky, for his part, was having a hard time with what he was seeing. He knew that Josie had an animalistic side called Tigress. They'd discussed Tigress before and he understood that that state was pure animal with only a bit of higher thinking present. He knew enough about animal behavior to know that they lashed out when hurt, which explained Tigress's actions. The problem was that it was hard to reconcile that animal with the fact that it was wearing Belle's face.

They came out into the camp and Bucky couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Josie before she could run off to hurt someone else and whipped her around. Tigress snarled and raised a hand to swipe at him but paused.

"Josie," he whispered, clutching her cheeks and desperately willing her to understand him as bullets rattled around them. "I know you're in there. You're safe now, Belle, I've got you. You can come out now. No one else it going to hurt you."

"Bu… cky?" The second half of his name was considerably more lucid than the first. With a happy surge Bucky realized he was getting through to her. He brushed a blood-soaked lock of hair from her face.

"Come on, love," he murmured to her. "You're breaking my heart here."

"Bucky." Josie was back now, blinking her way through Tigress's rage and focusing on him. She wretched, doubling over and vomiting blood onto Bucky's shoes. He didn't care. He just let her empty her stomach and then crushed her to him desperately.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered fiercely in her ear.

"For a moment you did." Josie's laugh was weak but present, which he took as a good sign. "What… happened?"

"Tigress," Bucky replied. Josie let out a sob as she clutched him tighter.

"We've got to go!" Steve yelled over the bullets. He was the only reason the pair of them hadn't been hit yet, he and Yori using their vibranium to deflect the bullets. Bucky nodded and picked Josie up, cradling her in his arms as he ran towards the truck idling nearby, the Howling Commandoes hanging out the back and urging them on. He flung himself inside and curled up on the floor with Josie cradled to him.

Yori and Steve threw themselves in the back and Dernier slammed the brakes. For a moment the tires spun and then they were off, cutting through the trees with bullets on their heels. But that didn't matter, because they were all together and they were all alive and safe.

* * *

When we were a good enough distance away from Auschwitz, we stopped for the night in an abandoned farmhouse. Yori and I were exhausted. We were conscious but we both had to be nearly dragged into the building. Steve laid Yori out on the couch with surprisingly little fuss from her. The others hauled in their sleeping bags to claim spots on the floor. There seemed to be some sort of unspoken agreement that I got the one bed in the place.

Bucky carried me into the bedroom and sat me down on the mattress.

"Wait here," he said, his voice painfully neutral. I nodded wordlessly and huddled on the edge of the sheets, clutching my arms and staring at my feet. I only remembered flashes of what Tigress had done but it didn't take a genius to work it out. I could feel the blood crusting under my nails and over my body and worst of all, I could taste blood in my mouth. I knew I had to look a fright.

I had long ago learned to accept that I couldn't help what Tigress did. She first manifested the first time I died, when I was barely six and I ran into the road and was struck by a car. When I healed, Tigress was in control. She'd run off into the woods and it had taken them two days to find me. Two days where I'd lived like a beast, hunting animals and eating them raw and sleeping curled up in trees.

I had accepted that Tigress was more animal than person. I also knew that those men would have died anyway on our way out. The only thing Tigress had done was make their deaths a bit more brutal than they might have been otherwise. It gave me some comfort to know that Tigress hadn't added to the death toll.

What concerned me now was how the others would react. How could they trust me when they knew what I was capable of? They'd seen me cut open with my organs splayed around. They'd seen me tear out a man's throat with my teeth. They'd seen me lose control like I never had before, the break brought on by trauma and death.

And more important, how would Bucky react? He'd held me in the back of the truck but he had only spoken a few words to me since we left the death camp. I was terrified that this was the point Yori had always warned me of, when my friends learned what I was truly capable of and turned their backs on me. I had to forcibly remind myself that once before I'd thought Bucky would turn his back on me and he hadn't. I had to hope that the pattern would hold true.

"Why you come?"

I looked up sharply. The boy from Auschwitz was standing in the doorway, watching me cautiously. His face was haunted, his blue eyes burning with depth and horrors seen. His English was spotty, but understandable. I beckoned him closer, patting the mattress beside me. He came in and sat stiffly next to me.

"I heard you scream from miles away," I explained gently. "And I had to help."

"But you got hurt," the boy countered.

I shrugged. "That's a risk I was willing to take."

"You don't know me."

"I didn't have to," I explained, reaching up to brush some strands of hair from his face. I smiled at him softly. "You were being hurt, Leibchen. I knew about it and I had the power to do something about it. Because of that I had to do something about it."

The boy nodded, his expression contemplative. "You… like me," he said slowly. "What are we?"

"You, Yori, and I are mutants," I explained.

"Mutants," he repeated slowly. "Monsters? That's what they call."

I shook my head fiercely. "You are not a monster!" I insisted, grabbing him by the shoulders. He needed to understand this if he was going to have a prayer at a normal life. "You are simply…" I didn't know how to translate this into a way he would understand. "You are a step ahead of most people."

"More powerful?" he tried to understand. I nodded.

"You can think about it that way, yes." I smiled at him fondly. "My name is Josie. The woman who was with me is Yori. What's your name?"

"Erik Lehnsherr," the boy said with a faint, unsure smile. I smiled back, as bright as I could manage with my thoughts dripping blood.

"It's good to meet you, Erik. We're going to take you somewhere safe," I promised him. "You'll never have to go back there again."

"Danke," Erik said, and the haunted look faded ever so slightly.

"Erik, I think it's time you got some sleep." We both looked up to see Bucky in the doorway. He had a bucket of water and a rag in his hand, as well as my pack thrown over one shoulder. I was so relieved it was almost a physical sensation when I saw the small smile on his face.

Erik nodded and left the room to move out with the others. Perring through the door I saw Steve offer him a spot near Yori. She was nearly asleep already, but she stretched out her arm and smiled at him, welcoming him to share the couch with her.

Bucky shut the door behind Erik and suddenly we were alone. Just us and whatever judgement he would pass on me. Once before Bucky had held the power to break me in his hands and now he held it again. If he called me a monster at this moment I would believe him and I feared that more than anything, more than even that twisted excuse for a doctor standing over me with a scalpel in one hand and my heart in another.

With a sob I hurled myself sideways onto the bed and dragged the sheets up over me, curling into as tight a ball as I could.

"None of that," Bucky chided gently, and he peeled the sheets away from me. I took a deep, shuddering breath and let him grab my arm and pull me up into a sitting position again. He cupped my face and I winced as I felt the touch through a layer of dried blood.

"She's my wrath, my anger, my fear, my desire for revenge," I tried to explain, staring at him intently and pleading with my eyes for him to understand. "She is me but without… without morals or ethics, without any kind of compunctions. For her life is kill or be killed and when I died and in such a… a horrible…" If I tried to describe it more I'd be sick. I looked away from Bucky and looked down. My eyes widened.

"Y-Your hands," I said slowly. "They're bloody. Are you hurt?" I worried, eyes darting all over him looking for wounds. Bucky laughed softly.

"I'm fine," he assured me, cupping my own bloody hands in his. "You once asked me if I was afraid of you. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you then. I know you can hurt me, but I trust that you won't. I'll admit, seeing you like that was… scary." I winced and turned away, feeling the tears start to come. Bucky released my hand and put a finger under my chin, turning my face to his. "Because I knew how far you must have been pushed to become like that," he finished. "My Belle wouldn't do that to anyone. Tigress would. She is a part of you but you're separate too. I…" Bucky hesitated. "I can't say for sure I understand it, because I've never been like that, but I think I have some idea of what it's like from what you've told me."

I could scarcely breathe with the love I had for this man. He had seen me at my worst and still he sat here and held my hands and took care of me and tried to make me feel better. All I could do was breathe, "Thank you," and lean forward, resting my head on his shoulder. Bucky nodded and kissed my temple, dragging his hands through my hair soothingly. They caught in dried, bloody tangles almost immediately.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Bucky said, shifting away. He dipped the rag into the water and lifted it up. Tenderly, he began to clean the blood off my face, my hands. He dug a cheap comb out of my bag and carefully untangled my hair, being more careful than even I was when tending to it. My clothes were a wash, either torn or bloodied beyond repair, so Bucky respectfully faced a corner while I changed into something else. Then he dragged me down onto the bed and held me to his chest like he'd never let go.

"I love you Belle," he whispered as he stroked my freshly-cleaned hair. "I love you and nothing in the world will ever change that. Nothing you could ever do would make me hate you."


	40. Yori and Erik

Chapter 40: Yori and Erik

When the boy they'd taken from Auschwitz disappeared into the room where Josie was kept, Steve kept a weather eye on him. He trusted Josie with his life, even after what he'd just seen, but he didn't know if she'd trust herself. He used his enhanced hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation and smiled at the knowledge that no matter what had happened Josie was still a sweetheart.

"Got it!" Dugan said triumphantly as he sat back from the barren fireplace. Now it blazed with light and sent a wash of warmth through the room that was deeply appreciated. The cold chill of Auschwitz didn't want to leave.

Bucky passed through then, a determined glint in his eye and a stubborn set to his jaw. Steve almost felt bad for Josie. He had no doubt she'd be feeling bad about what had happened but his best friend wasn't going to let her.

The boy crept form the room as Bucky shut the door behind him. He peered around, looking distinctly uncomfortable as the youngest person in the room surrounded by strangers, one of which wore stars and stripes and another of which had wings. Steve opened his mouth to say something to the boy, to try and make him feel more comfortable, but Yori beat him to the punch.

"Come here," she ordered.

The boy seemed almost eager to go to her. Steve assumed it was because she was like him. He was a little worried though. Given Yori's disposition he wasn't sure she could be trusted with a boy who'd just escaped from the hell their newest addition had. Gentle and caring were not words usually applied to her.

Then again, Yori didn't look like she was up to being very contrary at that moment. She was sitting on the couch, slouched into the plush cushions like she would very much like to sink into them and sleep for a few years. Her hair was ratty and tangled and blood speckled her entire body. The firelight did menacing things to her, highlighting the angles of her face and shadowing the crevices.

With the thoughtless instinct of years as an artist, Steve reached into the bag by his feet to pull out his sketchpad and pencil.

"Yori," the boy said as he approached her. "Josie told me your name."

"And who are you?" Yori asked, tilting her head at him curiously.

"Erik Lehnsherr," the boy replied. Yori nodded thoughtfully as if Erik's name merited intense contemplation. She patted the cushion next to her. Erik sat down by her side, his eyes lingering on her sword with the interest any little boy would have when presented with a gorgeous weapon like Yori's.

"Do you know what I can do?" Yori asked him conversationally. Erik shook his head. Yori's fingers glowed green and Steve stiffened, his pencil inadvertently poking a hole in the page. Erik watched in fascination as Yori reached over the arm of the couch and lazily traced her glowing finger over the wood of the end table. The wood smoked and burned as she worked. When she drew her hand back, three characters were carved into the table. The boy leaned over her a little to see. Steve traced the vague outline of the couch under Yori and added Erik into the sketch, looking at her curiously.

"Can't read," Erik admitted a bit sheepishly.

"Your name," Yori said, pointing to the characters in turn. "E-ri-ku." The boy's mouth mouthed the syllables after her, looking intrigued. Yori raised an eyebrow at him. "Tell me, what can you do, Erik?"

The boy was obviously hesitant. He looked around at the other Howling Commandoes, all of whom immediately tried to look disinterested. Falsworth straightened his cuffs and Dugan brushed off his hat. Morita let out a belch and Jones hastily dove back into the pages of a small book he'd pulled from his bag.

"You're among friends," Yori assured him.

Erik looked at them all a bit more critically. "Like us?" he asked.

Yori shook her head. "No, but they understand more than the normal human."

Erik was still obviously uncertain. Steve gave him a smile, trying to make the boy feel a little more comfortable. He was surprised by both of them, in all honesty. Erik was clearly a very strong boy, to have come through what he did and still be functioning as well as he was. He was talking and conversing with Yori just fine. He held himself stiffly and he was obviously guarded, but he was doing pretty well, all things considered.

Yori was a surprise as well. Steve had known Yori mentored young children in her travels. He even knew that she had met and begun working with Josie when the scientist was only thirteen years old. But he'd never actually seen her with a child until now and he was impressed. Maternal wasn't a word he'd ever thought to apply to Yori but there was something blatantly protective in her posture as she sat by the boy and affection gleamed in her eyes.

Erik raised his hand, eyes glued on the fire. Yori's eyes widened. For a moment she thought he was going to start making pictures in the flames like Adairia used to and she wasn't sure if her heart could take that after seeing one of her students dead and another dissected alive in the span of a few months. But the fire didn't move. The fire poker did.

The boy's hand guided the poker off the hook by the fireplace. The other Howling Commandoes sat up and paid attention as the boy's hand guided it forwards. It prodded at the logs and as one slipped it sent up a puff of cinders and smoke.

It was the boy's face, though, that worried both Yori and Steve. He was scowling thunderously and while Yori had seen young mutants who had to intently focus on the task at hand to use their powers when they were still learning, this was not that. This boy, if her guess was correct, was using anger and rage to fuel his powers. And judging by the way the poker never wavered, he was channeling those dark emotions well. It was a warning sign she always hated to see and longed to fix.

"Well done," Yori praised the boy as he hung the poker back on the hook and looked to her, his expression clearly waiting for her opinion. "You're very powerful and very skilled for your age," she continued, laying a hand on his shoulder proudly.

"Danke," the boy muttered, looking like he was suppressing a flush and a smile.

"Do itashimashite," Yori replied with a smile. "Tell me, Erik, when did you find out what you could do?"

The boy's hands fisted on his knees and his expression darkened, shark-like eyes fixed on a spot on the wall over Yori's shoulder. "They take mama. At the camp they take mama. I bend gate."

Yori's eyes darkened as well. "And what happened?"

"They hit me with gun so I stop. They take me to doctor," The boy's eyes were wide but blank, his voice hoarse as he remembered. The men in his audience hung on every word.

Steve looked to Yori. "Don't make him-" She cut him off with a firm look.

"And then?" Yori asked, and her eyes blazed with rage. Steve had no doubt that if Yori were up to it she'd walk back into Auschwitz at that exact moment and do her damnedest to tear apart every Nazi she could find just to make sure she got all of them who ever so much as gave the boy a dirty look.

"He want me to do again. Doctor Schmidt tells me to move coin." The boy's hand shifted towards his pocket, unnoticed by the others. They were too distracted by the name Schmidt. It wasn't the Red Skull but they were all quickly realizing that they'd found the base for their number two enemy: Klaus Schmidt.

Yori's eyes blazed with rage. "You couldn't do it, could you?" she guessed. Erik nodded.

"Now how'd you guess that?" Falsworth asked her incredulously.

"Usually powers are triggered for the first time because of extreme emotional stress, particularly in children as old as Erik is," Yori explained. "Very rarely can they immediately understand and effectively use their abilities after that. Sort of… beginner's luck."

"He brought mama," Erik continued to talk, the words pouring out of him. "He say if I can't move coin, she die. I couldn't move coin." He swallowed thickly, tears rising in his eyes. "She die. I scream. I crush the heads of soldiers in their helmets. I crush bell on desk. I make walls shake. I make knives shake, table shake, everything shakes…"

Everything was shaking then as well. The fire poker rattled on its hook and nails that once held treasured family photographs vibrated in the walls like tuning forks. Their guns begin to rattle disconcertingly and stray pistols lifted up slightly. In the tiny kitchen they could hear pans and pots beginning to rattle.

Yori was the first to react. She flared her wings. The gesture was dramatic and eye-catching and had the effect of making the fire dance and lash in the grate, tossing wild shadows on her features. Steve turned the page and began to try and capture that image on the reverse of the first.

"Iie," Yori said simply, and Erik didn't know the meaning of the word but the sound of it and the hand she placed over his was enough to make him settle down enough to stop the rattling. The tears still fell though. Yori blinked once and then wrapped an arm around Erik, drawing him to her side to cry on her shoulder. He sniffled and sobbed as Yori draped her arms and wings around him, shifting them so that she lay against the arm of the couch and Erik was draped against her side.

Yori hummed, her head swaying slightly. Closing her eyes she began to sing a lullaby. _"Sakura sakura noyama mo sato mo mi-watasu kagiri. Kasumi ka kumo ka?"_

With a jolt, Steve realized this was the same song Yori had been singing when they found her at the HYDRA base.

Soon Erik's tears faded away and dried on his cheeks. He fell asleep next to Yori as she continued to sing softly for him, her voice beginning to go weak and scratchy. Steve stayed awake sketching as Yori slowly but surely sent all of his men to sleep.

Steve rose from his chair and tucked his sketchbook away. The water in the kitchen still worked, so he found a glass and filled it with tap water. He carried the glass back into the room, stepping carefully over the sprawled form of Jones and toeing Dernier in the side so that the man would roll over and stop snoring. He made his way over to the couch. Yori had stopped singing, her head tilted back over the arm of the couch and her hair streaming towards the floor. She breathed evenly, Erik snoring gently into her shoulder. She still held onto the boy with her arms and wings in her sleep and as he watched she coiled her tail around his waist.

Steve smiled at that, glad to have seen a softer side to Yori. He set the glass down on the night table and tilted his head to examine the characters burned into the wood. They were so far from being letters he wouldn't have any idea how to begin figuring out what they meant if Yori hadn't already told them. Vaguely, he wondered if Yori would write out his name for him to see one day.

"You should sleep."

Steve jerked slightly. Yori hadn't moved but her eyes were open, red burning from the darkness. She raised an eyebrow and looked from him to the water. Her eyes narrowed.

"Thank you for that," she said, reaching for it. She took several large gulps and closed her eyes when she set the empty glass aside. She looked Steve over and sternly ordered, "Sleep."

"You're still awake and I think you've had a worse day than me," Steve countered. Yori shook her head.

"I'd rather not attack this boy if I dream, so I'll stay awake," Yori replied simply. "And today is not new for me, if you recall. Well…" Pain covered her face. "Seeing Josie taken apart is."

Steve felt ill, recalling seeing Josie sprawled on that table with her organs sitting around her. "I can't even imagine-"

"No, you can't," was Yori's swift reply. "And I'm glad of that. You seeing the aftermath was enough. I would prefer you didn't see the event itself."

"Because I'm not a mutant? Because I can't understand?" Steve asked, a little offended. Yori teetered on a superiority complex sometimes.

"You are a mutant, just not like me," Yori disagreed. "And you've been someone's experiment before. The only difference is that you volunteered. No, I'd rather you didn't see it because I'd really rather not look at you ten years from now and see Josie screaming reflected back at me in your eyes." Yori's eyes closed and she sighed. "You are innocent, Steve. Hold onto that." The last sentence was nearly a plea. Yori's eyes opened a slit and she stared down at Erik in her arms. She reached up and stroked strands of hair from his face, kissing his forehead softly.

"Some of us don't get that option. Thank you for the water."

"You're welcome," Steve replied. He smiled slightly. "Hey Yori?"

"Yes?" she asked wearily.

"Oyasuminasai."

Yori stared at him incredulously for a moment before a wide smile broke over her face.

"I'll teach you to speak my language yet," she said with a small laugh before her eyes drifted closed and her breathing evened out for real.

* * *

"I'm not amused," Colonel Phillips said shortly as he stared at the group sitting across his desk from him. Yori and I were in chairs, Steve and Bucky leaning against the wall behind them. Peggy sat in the corner with Erik standing awkwardly by her side. Howard stood on Erik's other side, looking the kid over curiously.

"Are you ever?" Howard sniped from the corner. Phillips glared.

"Why are you even here? Last I checked you weren't part of this hare-brained scheme to break into Auschwitz all for the sake of one little boy!" Phillips said pointedly. Erik flinched and winced in his little corner and Peggy patted his hand comfortingly.

"I heard his screaming. I had to do something," Josie replied smoothly.

"No, you didn't. All you had to do was follow orders and haul your rear end back here to make your report!" Phillips disagreed hotly. "Because of you I now have to explain to the president why we launched an unauthorized attack on a concentration camp just for one kid kicking up a fuss!"

"He was doing more than that!" Josie said sharply, eyes flashing.

"He was being experimented on by Schmidt," Steve agreed. "We couldn't ignore that. He was part of our assignment, right?"

"Yes, but this kid's already said he doesn't know anything," Phillips countered. "All he can do is… is make some aluminum foil stand up and pay attention!" Phillips shook his head wearily and glanced at Erik. "Imagine what I could do with ten of him on the front lines instead of one of you," he said, nodding to Steve.

Yori's tail snapped and her hands clenched so tightly on the arms of her chair that the wood creaked and groaned. "You so much as hand that boy a uniform hat and I will take your hand off," she hissed fiercely. "He is a child, not a resource for you to use or a puzzle for you to pull apart! Homo sapiens," she sneered. "When will you understand that you are not, in fact, the superior force on this planet?"

"Yori," I snapped, placing a hand on her shoulder. "That's not helping."

"I could have you arrested for threatening an officer," Phillips pointed out, narrowing his eyes at Yori, who smiled viciously in reply.

"Please do, I'd _love_ to watch your men scramble."

"Yori!" Steve said sharply. Yori flinched and looked more chastened than when I'd grabbed her. I sighed. It seemed Yori hadn't gotten rid of her crush yet. I felt bad for what could never be but at the same time I couldn't deny it was a good thing to have someone in charge that Yori would listen to.

"Whether it was a prudent action or not, it's happened," Peggy interjected. "What remains now is to decide what to do with Erik."

"Well we're not keeping him," Phillips said firmly.

"I don't know, he's kinda cute," Howard said, and ruffled Erik's hair. Erik straightened his hair and glared at Howard. The filing cabinet closest to Howard vibrated warningly. Howard held up his hands innocently.

"We're not a day care," Phillips said shortly. "So unless you've got a plan for somewhere to send him, I've got no choice but to haul him to the nearest orphanage."

"Nein!" Erik protested, but quickly bit his lip and settled back down. I looked at him sympathetically.

"Don't worry, that won't be happening," Yori said, and Erik obviously believed her because he was visibly relieved. I smiled. It seemed Yori had found someone to take under her wing, even if only for the few days it had taken us to get back to London.

"And you're saying that on what authority?" Phillips asked her. Yori raised an eyebrow.

"My own, of course."

Phillips snorted. "Of course."

I leaned forwards. "May I use your phone?" I asked Phillips politely. He threw up his hands.

"Sure, why not? It's not as if we're having an important meeting."

"Thank you," I said, and dragged the phone closer. Phillips rolled his eyes and settled back in his chair, crossing his arms with a huff as I dialed a number. The phone was answered a moment after the first ring, unsurprisingly.

"Granny Nevade," I greeted fondly.

"Josie! It's wonderful to hear from you! What's going on, you usually write unless it's important."

"I've just come across a young boy that I may or may not have liberated from Auschwitz without orders," I explained. "Charming young man named Erik Lehnsherr. The problem is that we don't know what to do with him now that we've got him."

"And you're asking me?"

"Well I was thinking. What's the best private school in Europe?"

Nevade considered for a moment. "I believe that would be Heathewood Preparatory."

I nodded. "That's what I thought too. Would you mind calling them and telling them that Erik will be arriving there soon? All of his expenses are to be billed to me."

Erik looked like he might pass out at any given moment, he was so stunned.

"Don't have to-" he murmured, face red.

"I want to," I said firmly. "Tell them to call me with any further questions," I added to Nevade.

"Will do!" Nevade chirped, not questioning my decision even for a moment. I smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Nevade."

"You're welcome, dear. Call more often, it's good to hear from you!"

"I'll try. Good bye."

"Bye dear."

Phillips groaned and rubbed his palms across his face. "Never demand an Ealum woman pull a solution out of nowhere, because she will," he said to the room at large.

"Noted," Bucky chirped.

And that was it.

Howard had graciously taken Erik shopping for a new wardrobe and three days later he was sent off to get an education with mine and Yori's contact information and told to get in touch if he ever needed anything or just wanted to talk. He'd been beyond grateful and had even hugged Yori and I before leaving, the Howling Commandoes waving him off.

* * *

Do itashimashite – you're welcome


	41. Happy Birthday

Chapter 41: Happy Birthday

"Where are you taking me?"

Bucky had his tie wrapped around his eyes as I escorted him down the halls, completely ignorant the other soldiers who looked at us like we were crazy. I ignored them all and pulled Bucky along by his arm, tugging him down a hall towards the conference room that we had commandeered for the day. It was March 10, and that meant one thing.

I opened the door, pushed Bucky inside, and tugged off the blindfold.

"Happy Birthday!"

I laughed and began to sing along as Bucky pretended to conduct us all, making a grand show of wincing and rubbing his ear at Steve, who glared good-naturedly.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble," Bucky assured us as the singing stopped.

"No trouble at all… Ugh!"

I quickly helped Peggy catch the cake as it began to slide out of her arms and Steve jumped to hold the door for her. She gave him a grateful smile as she and I wrangled the large cake onto the table and Howard followed with plates and forks.

"Maybe there was a little trouble," Peggy admitted sheepishly. "Happy birthday, Barnes."

"Thanks," Bucky said gratefully.

"This cake may be a fire hazard, old man," Yori chuckled as she lit the nearly thirty candles with a glowing fingertip. Bucky huffed out a laugh at that.

"Do they even make cakes big enough to fit all your candles, Tsukuda?" he countered.

"Alright, alright, no bloodshed until after I've got my cake!" Dugan announced, cutting them off with a grin. Bucky rolled his eyes at that.

"And we all know standing between Dugan and food is hazardous to your health," he ribbed as he leaned forwards and blew out all the candles but one in one breath. His eyes flicked up to meet mine as he blew the last one out. I smiled at him, my hands clasped together loosely under my chin. He smiled back cheekily. God I loved that man.

"Bet I know what he wished for," Morita said under his breath, pointing at me not so subtly.

"Pervert," Peggy accused.

"No, that's Steve's department," Yori said breezily, to much gaping. Steve blushed to the roots of his hair as Bucky nudged him in the side meaningfully. Steve also looked a bit begrudgingly amused as well though.

"Something you want to share with the class?" Falsworth asked Yori incredulously. Yori innocently cut a slice of cake and held up the plate in offering.

"Cake?"

"Merci," Dernier said, snatching the cake from her hands and hustling to the other end of the room to get out of reach of Falsworth's grasping arms. Yori's joke was forgotten as she distributed cake and we all sat down at the long conference table to chat as we ate.

"Oh!" I huffed in surprise as Bucky caught my hand and tugged me down to sit on his lap.

"Come on you two, that's sweeter than the cake!" Jones protested jokingly.

"You're just jealous," Bucky countered swiftly, smiling up at me as I crossed my legs.

"It is your birthday," I smiled, and kissed him swiftly before cutting a slice of cake and holding it up for him, my other hand cupped under it to catch crumbs. "Cake?" I asked. Bucky took the bite as the other men pretended to gag and wretch at us. I didn't care. Peggy contented herself with a pursed lips hiding a smile.

"Mi amor!" Dernier cried dramatically, holding up his fork in front of Jones.

"My darling!" Jones chimed back with equal melodrama as he wrapped his arms around Dernier and squeezed tightly. The Frenchman choked slightly.

"Enough!" he huffed, and pulled himself free. Yori whapped the both of them chidingly with her wings.

"Baka," she scolded fondly.

The laughter and teasing continued as we ate cake, jokes flying up and down the length of the table along with the odd bit of icing when Morita made a crack about Dernier and Jones's relationship and got a fork flung at him for his trouble.

"So what was your birthday wish?" I asked Bucky, leaning back against my shoulder and pushing my plate away from me.

"First off, I'd like the rest of your cake," Bucky began. With a laugh I passed the plate to him and he grinned, popping a bit in his mouth. "Secondly I can't tell you or it won't come true."

"Of course," I agreed.

"This is really good cake," Bucky said, pointing to it with his fork. "Where'd you get it? I don't think there's an open bakery near here."

"That's why I made it," I replied with a shrug. Bucky choked slightly.

"You made this? It tastes like heaven!"

"I like to bake in my free time," I explained. "Like you said, there aren't any open bakeries near here and I told Howard that no, we weren't going to import a birthday cake. So I asked Steve what you liked and threw this together."

"If this is what you threw together I can't wait to taste something you tried on," Bucky chuckled.

"When this is all over I'll make you a big Southern dinner, complete with fried okra and burgoo," I promised.

"Don't know what that is but it sounds good," Bucky said optimistically and I laughed.

"Presents!" Dugan announced, and packages were pulled out of a cabinet and passed towards Bucky. I climbed off his lap to give him room to move as he opened up his gifts. They were small things. A bottle of booze from Morita and Dugan, a sketch of the French countryside from Steve. Yori had done a calligraphy picture of his name. The others gave him random things they'd picked up or made. Knowing how much it bothered Bucky when I gave him anything expensive – the watch remained in his nightstand drawer when he was on a mission for fear it would get broken – I'd given him a pair of nice leather gloves and a scarf.

The festivities lasted well into the night and it was after eleven when I helped Bucky gather up his gifts to haul back to his room. I'd unofficially moved in the interim so I didn't have to run back to my room to grab clothes. Bucky put on his pajamas in the bedroom while I charged into a blue satin nightgown in the bathroom.

I came out fiddling with my locket, something that had become a habit. Bucky had already packed his gifts away and was sitting in bed under the sheets, his back propped up against the headboard. I sat down on the edge of Bucky's bed with my brush in hand and began to slowly stroke through my hair, working out the creases from an entire day in a bun.

I hummed happily. I loved moments like this, when it was just us in this little room and no one else. When Bucky was mine and I was his and everything felt at the same time intensely special and completely casual. Soft, quiet moments that when I thought back on them a decade or two from now would be bathed in warm light. This was the ease I'd always imagined a couple should have instead of the tumultuous relationship of my father and stepmonster.

"So was your birthday everything you'd hoped?" I asked him as I continued to brush.

"Almost," Bucky said, staring at his knees. I raised an eyebrow.

"Almost? What was wrong?" I asked in concern, setting aside my brush and twisting so that I knelt next to him.

"There's something I wanted that I didn't get," Bucky admitted. I blinked. This wasn't like him. Bucky was the opposite of greedy. To see him this quiet because he didn't get something he wanted was a very surprising.

"What did you want?" I asked in confusion, tilting my head to the side.

Bucky's lips were twitching and there was some kind of light in his eyes that I couldn't get a read on. He sighed.

"You really want me to tell?" he asked morosely.

"Yes," I said, worried now as I scooted closer to him.

"You sure?"

"Yes!" I was getting annoyed now. "Tell me, Bucky!"

He nodded and leaned over to his nightstand, pulling the drawer open. "What I really want," he pulled out a small black ring box and my breath caught as my mind put together the pieces of where this was going.

"What I really want," Bucky said, and now I recognized the glow in his eyes as hope and love mixed with a tinge of nerves. I'd rarely seen Bucky uncomfortable or unsure so it took some time to identify. "Is for you to marry me, Belle." He lifted the lid of the ring box and my heart stopped.

I looked at him, the man I loved more than I'd ever thought I could love anyone. I looked at the ring. I looked back at him, the man who loved me more than I'd ever thought anyone could. I took a deep breath and lost it.

I howled with mirth, clutching my sides as I chuckled. Tears built in the corners of my eyes and streamed down my face as I doubled over with the force of my laughter, losing my balance and toppling into Bucky's side. He huffed as he wrapped an arm around me to steady me.

"You're not exactly filling me with confidence on my answer," Bucky admitted a little nervously.

"Yes!" I managed to wheeze out around my laughter. "Yes, of course I'll marry you, you silly man! It's just… the ring…"

"Do you not like it?" Bucky asked edgily, but his eyes were sparkling warmly now that he had his answer. He was going to marry me, I was going to get married to Bucky Barnes and spend the rest of my life with him. I felt so blessed.

"I love it," I assured him. He pulled it from the box and slid it onto my ring finger. I stared at the ovular tiger's eye in the gold setting, a tiny diamond on either side. I looked from the stone to him with a grin. "You couldn't resist could you?"

Now Bucky was grinning as well. "Once I saw it in the window I really couldn't. I hoped you wouldn't think it was too tactless, especially since… I know you're still having nightmares."

My smile fell slightly. I was still having nightmares of my time as Tigress at Auschwitz, of feeling my teeth and claws tearing into flesh and feeling warm, wet blood running down my throat. I accepted it but I did not revel in it and the experience had shaken me a lot.

"I just thought it would be a nice reminder," Bucky explained. "When I found out about your mutation you were so sure I wouldn't want to speak to you ever again, the same way you were when I first saw Tigress. I want you to always know that I accept every bit of you. For better or worse." He smiled widely and energy washed over him. He tackled me onto the pillows, planting kisses all over my face.

"My Belle." He was grinning uncontrollably. "You're really gonna be _my_ Belle."

I was beaming just as helplessly. I was getting married! "With a piece of paper and everything," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and fiddling with his hair. Bucky pecked me on the lips.

"Your dad made me promise we wouldn't have a ceremony until after the war so that he could come," he said. "You okay with that?"

My eyes were warm and loving as I stared back at him. "Oh my love, I'd wait forever if it meant I got to marry you."

"Speaking of…" Bucky slid the ring off my finger and tilted it so that I could see the inscription inside. _Only forever… and an eternity after that._ A year ago I would have scoffed and called it cheesy but now I couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

Bucky tilted his head and gave me the smirk/smile that had made my heart flutter since the moment I met him. "I'd rather marry you a little sooner than that and spent that forever as your husband."

"Only forever… and an eternity after that," I agreed, and leaned up to catch his lips in a fierce kiss. His lips moved over mine, down my jaw to my neck and down onto my chest. I reached down to the lacing at the front of my nightgown and began to loosen it, letting the front gape open a little. Bucky's eyes widened. He seemed unable to tear his eyes away from the exposed flesh.

"Belle?" he asked, his voice a little higher than normal.

A little bit of Tigress leeched into my voice as I growled, "I don't want to wait until this war is over for a honeymoon."

And we moved forward together.

* * *

Bucky lay in bed on his back next to Josie, his head resting on one hand. He trailed absent patterns on her shoulder and back with the other. He tried to figure out what his favorite part of the evening had been. When she gasped and shuddered his name? Or when she screamed it in ecstasy? When, after they'd finished the first time, Josie had let her feral side out a little bit and climbed on top of him, attacking his neck and chest with nips and kisses? When she'd wearily murmured 'I love you,' right before they both drifted off?

Bucky's eyes drifted down to her hand resting on his stomach. The engagement ring gleamed there and he smiled proudly. That was his favorite part. When a Southern belle of an heiress with a sweet heart and a mind that spun his own decided she wanted to marry a nobody of a soldier from Brooklyn. When she'd agreed to become Mrs. Bucky Barnes and had looked up at him with more love in her eyes than he'd ever imagined there could be in a person.

Bucky leaned down and kissed her head fondly. She shifted and hummed in her sleep, eyes blinking open blearily as she woke. The moment her eyes fixed on him a tired smile spread across her face, that delicious curve of her lips making him swoop down to steal a kiss. Her thumb absently stroked against his skin as she smiled up at him.

"What're you lookin' at?" she asked.

"My future wife," Bucky replied proudly. "She's this gorgeous brunette with eyes like early morning fog."

"Sounds pretty," Josie smiled, waking up a little more. "Tell me more 'bout 'er?"

"She's brilliant and stubborn as hell, never lets anyone tell her what to do."

"A stubborn girl?" Josie repeated innocently. "Those c'n be a handful, ya know."

"Yeah I know, but I wouldn't have her any other way," Bucky replied, a grin slowly spreading across his lips. "She's a real sweetheart too."

"Sounds like yer a lucky man, ain'tcha?"

"And she's got the most adorable accent when she's tired," Bucky laughed, not at all surprised when Josie lightly swatted his chest.

"Hush!" she scolded. "Your girl sounds nice and all but you should hear about my future husband," Josie said knowingly.

"Oh?" Bucky asked innocently. "What about him?"

"He's got these gorgeous blue eyes that I could drown in, a smile that could make a girl's heart stop, and he smells like heaven," Josie said, burying her nose in his throat. Her expression went a little dizzy as she inhaled deeply. Bucky wondered vaguely if she was a little addicted to the smell of him.

"Sounds like a real heartbreaker," Bucky observed.

"I broke him of that," Josie assured him. "He's the bravest, funniest, most handsome man I've ever met. He treats me like a princess and takes care of me. He listens to me when I talk and doesn't tell me to hush up. He doesn't try to change me and lets me be who I am instead of trying to turn me into a proper lady. He makes me swoon sometimes and smile others and most of all he makes me love him more every day."

Bucky's smirk was getting wider and wider with every descriptor. Josie huffed and shoved him lightly, adding, "And he's a complete peacock!"

"Well what do you expect, stroking my ego like that?" Bucky protested, rubbing his ribs with a wince.

* * *

The Howling Commandoes plus Peggy and Howard sat in the same conference room where we'd had Bucky's birthday party the night before. They all looked a little concerned as they stared at Bucky and I holding hands in our chairs, our heads pressed together as we murmured to each other.

"What's happened?" Yori finally demanded.

"You're worrying us," Peggy agreed.

I sighed and raised my head to look around the table. "Well, Bucky brought something to my attention last night."

"What's wrong?" Steve asked immediately, looking at his best friend in concern. Bucky bravely put on a world-weary look and just shook his head wordlessly.

"If he's not talking it's something really bad," Falsworth said grimly. "What's wrong?"

"Well, there's something he wanted for his birthday that none of us gave him." I couldn't fight my smile any longer as I got incredulous stares from all around the table. I heard Bucky start to sputter next to me as well. "It seems we all neglected to get him one, so when he asked me to, I agreed to be his wife," he said, holding up my left hand and unable to fight the smile anymore.

Incredulity shifted immediately into delight as the room exploded into congratulations. Bucky stood up as Steve clapped him on the shoulder and they shared a manly embrace as Peggy and Yori practically dove on me for hugs and to see the ring.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Peggy cried as she hugged me tightly. I hugged her back with one arm, seeing as Yori had my left hand in a vice-like grip.

Laughter exploded around the room as Yori rounded on Bucky and shouted in disbelief, "You gave her a _tiger's eye ring?"_

"Did you really?" Dugan sniggered. Falsworth took my hand from Yori and laughed wildly.

"My god, he _did!"_

"You jerk!" Steve laughed.

"Punk," Bucky replied, slugging him in the shoulder.

Howard actually looked teary-eyed as he snatched me away from the ladies to spin me around in the air. He set me down and kissed me on both cheeks soundly as I grinned and hugged him. He grabbed at my hand to examine the ring.

"Hmm, nice stone, good setting." He flashed Bucky a thumbs-up. "And nice job on the personal touch!"

Bucky stared around at the other men. "Seeing as I can't seem to remember there being a limit on how many I can have, I was hoping you fine commandoes would consent to be my groomsmen?"

"You two, of course, will be my bridesmaids," I said, grabbing Peggy and Yori's hands in mine. Yori looked like she might actually started crying as Peggy shook her head.

"No, I couldn't possibly, you have cousins who-"

"Who are not the closest thing I've ever had to a sister," I told her sternly. "And no way in hell am I walking down any aisle with the best friend and my sister." I squeezed their hands.

"You'll have an uneven number of bridesmaids and groomsmen," Howard pointed out.

"Well, Jones and Frenchie can walk each other down the aisle," Morita suggested sweetly and had to duck as Jones threw a punch while Dernier cursed at him colorfully.

"You'll be my best man?" Bucky asked Steve knowingly.

"You've got to ask?" Steve replied with a boyish grin and hugged him again. "I'm really happy for you, you know?"

"Me too," Bucky said, glancing at me and smiling like he'd just won the lottery.

"Now hold on, wait a minute!" Howard burst out suddenly. "Groomsmen, bridesmaids… what am I going to do? You're not going to leave me out of the big day, are you?" he pouted.

"You could be the flower girl?" Bucky offered. I swatted him on the shoulder as Howard gave him a rude hand gesture in reply.

"I was hoping you'd be there for me," I admitted. "As my, uh, bridesman?"

Howard grinned and seized me for another round of cheek kisses. "I'll take it."

"Hey now, I'm soon to be a married woman," I teased. "You can't just go laying hands on me like that, Mr. Stark, or I'll sic my fiancé on you!"

Howard glanced over his shoulder at Bucky, who cracked his knuckles threateningly. He was grinning though, which took the sting out of it.

"Ah, I can take him!" Howard blustered. Bucky jerked a thumb at Steve, who crossed his arms and tried to look intimidating. He mostly just looked like a golden retriever.

"What if I bring a friend?" Bucky asked. Howard slowly took his hands off my shoulders.

"Alright, him I _definitely_ can't take."

* * *

 **Real quick: I don't write smut, I can't write smut. Ask me to write a fight scene full of blood and brutal stabbings and I'm your girl but for whatever reason I can't write smut. So there won't be any of that here, which is why I'm keeping this story at a T rating. There may be moments that very obviously lead into some sexy times but that's as far as it'll go. Sorry to disappoint anyone who was hoping for some smut but I just really can't write it for the life of me.**


	42. Victor Creed

Chapter 42: Victor Creed

We were sent out to target a facility just inside Germany, a small textile factory that had been converted into a weapons depot for HYDRA. It was larger than our usual fare but I was confident we could take it, especially considering that it was on a skeleton guard at the moment.

"Ready?" Bucky breathed from next to me.

"As always," I smiled. He reached over, caught my jaw, and placed a bruising kiss on my lips as Steve gave the signal.

"Up and away!" Yori laughed wildly as she scooped me up and dragged me into the air. Below, Dernier gunned the engine of our truck. The others were probably clinging on for dear life in the back as they careened towards the gates of the factory, Steve following on his motorcycle. There was a great crashing and screaming of metal as the truck tore through the gate. Tires squealed as Steve shot past them and swung the bike into a tight turn, screeching to a stop and hurling his shield at a nearby HYDRA soldier taking aim at the men piling out of the back of the truck.

"Bombs away!" Dernier shouted, and hurled a grenade at an outbuilding. Dugan pulled the pin on one of his with his teeth and chucked it and a group of soldiers lounging outside of the main building. The grenades went off, taking out both targets in a burst of fire.

"Yori, go!" I shouted as she dropped me on top of a guard post. Yori gave a menacing shriek and dove for the ground, hands glowing. She shoved her fists through the chests of two soldiers before withdrawing, pulling her katana, and taking the head off another.

"Fancy meeting you here."

I could see the adrenaline and amusement lighting Bucky's eyes as he scrambled up next to me on the guard tower, pulling the M1941 Johnson off his shoulder. He threw himself down on his stomach next to me and started firing, picking off HYDRA snipers and any soldiers that seemed like they were about to get the drop on one of ours.

I served the same function on this raid. I stood tall, firing bone bullets from my fingertips in wide swatches, covering doors and windows. The blast from Bucky's gun make my teeth rattle and my ears throb but I bore it as I saw a window break on the top level of the factory and a gun barrel poke out.

"Gotta go!" I said, and moved to the edge of the guard house roof. I fired a wave of bullets at the window to make the man hesitate in his shot before running forward and leaping off the edge of the guard house. I caught the edge of a window sill and flipped up, fighting gravity with all my might as I ran on all fours across the side of the building to the window where the gun barrel was poking out again.

I seized the weapon and wrenched it from the man's hands. He gave a surprised shout as I turned it around and fired. The bullet blew out the front of his face and the recoil knocked me off the wall. I hit the ground hard on my back, briefly winded, before I regained my breath and leaped up.

For a moment the battle froze as a shriek cut over everything. It was feminine, high-pitched and piercing, like the call of a bird of prey. I watched as Yori fell to her left, clutching her side. Behind her, Steve whipped around. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that Yori had just taken a bullet meant for him.

"Yori!" I screamed, infuriated and concerned. I found the shooter and fired a full-length knife from my palm. It pierced him through the throat, the tip burying in the wall on his other side and holding him up grotesquely as he gurgled his way into death.

The bullets were starting to slack off as the HYDRA soldiers were drawn out and we took them down. Steve had Yori in his arms, his shield raised to protect her. It would have been a touching scene if I couldn't hear Yori screaming at him to quit being an idiot and fight, she'd be fine.

"You okay?" I demanded as I tore over to them, skidding to a stop. A bullet hit the ground not far from my foot. I glared around and pulled my sidearm, shooting the HYDRA soldier in the forehead without flinching.

"Damn it!" Steve shouted as more bullets rattled off his shield, quickly shifted to cover Yori's head.

She was thrashing and hissing and cursing in his arms. "Get off of me!" she shrieked. "I'm fine, baka!"

"You're been shot!" Steve disagreed.

"This is hardly the first time," she said, and aimed her tail for his eyes ruthlessly. Steve had no choice but to jerk back and Yori pulled herself away from him, hissing and cursing as she looked around at the final few soldiers attempting to surround us.

"Everybody drop!" Yori yelled over the gunfire, her hand glowing brilliantly. My eyes widened and I dove on Steve, knocking him flat on the ground and rolling off to press flat on my stomach. A whip the radius of the field around us uncoiled from Yori's fingertips. She went up on the toes of one foot and raised her hand. She kicked off and began to spin, lines of green crackling light tearing through the air around her. The whip cut through the remaining soldiers, shredding them with every revolution. When the only sound was the faint hum and crack of Yori's whip she stopped and sagged, panting and pressing her hand over the bullet wound.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Dugan protested, appearing from behind a barrel that had been sheared in half.

"Merde," Dernier whistled, staring around at the smoking lines etched into the stone of the building.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Bucky said, leaping off the building and landing in a crouch. He straightened up and tossed his rifle over his shoulder again.

"Never get on my bad side," Yori grit out, still holding her side. She turned towards the main building. "Let's go."

"Hold on!" Steve said, darting forward and catching her shoulder on her uninjured side. "You're hurt; you're going to wait for us in the truck and take care of that wound."

"The hell I am!" Yori protested hotly.

"I'm not going to let anything else happen to you, especially seeing as you took that bullet for me!" Steve argued, staring down at her. Yori glared back up but I saw her redden a few shades as she realized Steve had noticed that she'd jumped in the bullet's path for him.

"You think too much of yourself," Yori sneered, turning away from him. Or trying to, at least. Steve threw up his hands in frustration and grabbed Yori, picking her up bridal style.

" _Put me down!"_ Yori shouted, her face flaming with rage an embarrassment as we all watched in mixed amusement and concern. "I am fine! You are _not_ my mother, so stop acting like it! Put me _down,_ taichō! Taichō? _Steve,_ set me down!"

Steve set Yori down in the back of the truck, pulling a first aid kit out from under one of the bench seats and shoving it at her. He beckoned Jones over.

"Watch her, make sure she takes care of herself and doesn't charge in after us," he instructed.

Jones was stifling a grin as he said, "Got it."

Yori was muttering something very unflattering about Steve's parentage as we all walked into the factory, guns raised and ready for any HYDRA soldiers who hadn't joined the initial charge.

"You and Morita look for information," Steve said, pointing to Dernier. "Bucky, you and Josie look for survivors."

"No pit stops, you two," Dugan teased.

"No promises," Bucky shot back instantly. There was faint laughter as Steve turned to Dugan and Falsworth. "We'll start a search going up floor by floor."

With our assignments in mind we all split, Morita and Dernier to find some offices and Bucky and I to look for survivors.

"You hear anything?" Bucky asked as we crept down a hallway, peering in open doors.

"Yes, actually," I admitted, pricking my ears as I heard whimpering coming from a door two down on out right. I approached the door and cautiously stuck my head in. The whimpering was definitely coming from in here, and I could see a highly-polished shoe poking from behind a filing cabinet in the corner. Raising my gun, I fired into the wall.

The man hiding behind the filing cabinet shrieked and shot out from behind the filing cabinet for the door. I caught him by the shirtfront, aiming a bone from my wrist at his neck to keep him from struggling. His eyes widened and he began to speak in German too quickly for me to understand. I shook him roughly to shut him up.

"Ist hier noch jemand wie wir hier?" I demanded of him. His eyes darted away.

"N-Nein," he stammered.

I jostled him once more. "Du lügst!" I snapped. The man whimpered once more, his eyes fixed fearfully on the bone blade at his throat. Not that I blamed him, I sure it was very intimidating on the other side.

"I-im Keller! Ein Monster!" he yelped.

"Ein Monster?" I repeated.

"Ein Mann mit Zähnen und Klauen. Ein Werwolf!" he sobbed frantically.

"Werewolf?" Bucky repeated. "I know that one."

Pounding feet announced the arrival of the rest of our team.

"We heard a shot," Steve said in explanation as they crowded into the room. He looked at the sobbing man at the end of my spike.

"I was trying to draw him out," I explained. "He says there's someone here, a mutant," I summarized, and turned back to the HYDRA scientist. "Ein Werwolf?" I dropped my grip on him but kept my blade pointed, jerking my head towards the door in a gesture for him to show us.

The man paled and looked like he might wet himself, shaking his head frantically. "Geh nicht da rein, er wird dich in Stücken zerreißen! Er hat schon fünf Männer umgebracht!" he warned, begging me not to make him take us down there.

Werewolf, teeth and claws, male, killer. It was starting to sound very familiar. A sneaking suspicion crept over me and I smirked. "Ich glaube nicht, dass er mich umbringen wird... Er ist ein alter Freund."

"Friend?" Falsworth repeated, easily translating the last word. "You know the guy they're calling a werewolf?"

"I think so," I admitted. "It certainly sounds like Creed."

"Creed?" Dugan repeated blankly. "What kind of name is that?"

"Victor Creed," I added. "Jimmy's half-brother."

"Jimmy with the bone claws, Jimmy?" Morita confirmed, raising his hand in a fist. I nodded.

"That's the one." I jerked my head towards the door again. Steve, Bucky, and Dugan came down with us, the others going to complete the other tasks at Steve's behest. I pushed the scientist forward. He whimpered and whined still but he had an entire group of us at his back now and he had no choice but to guide us down a stairwell and to a heavily reinforced door at the bottom. The man was sobbing and shaking as he pulled keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open and stepping side.

"Well well… back for more, doc?"

I snorted at the familiar voice and followed the scientist in, unafraid.

"Victor, have you been scaring people again?"

The others followed after me and Bucky scrambled on the wall for a light switch. He found one. A couple of hastily-rigged industrial lights flipped on, illuminating the shelving units lining the walls and the chairs stacked in one corner. There was figure with long, dirty blonde hair and prominent canines that had been chained to the back wall with extreme prejudice.

Victor's eyes widened and he bit out a laugh. "Well, look who it is! What are you doing here in the blood and shit with the rest of us, pussy cat?"

I made a face and glared. "Nothing, _kitty."_

Victor roared in protest at the nickname and I snarled back, pulling back my lips and flashing my teeth. The sounds faded and we both smirked at each other before Victor started laughing darkly.

"Good to see you. You gonna get me out of these chains or what?"

"She has the _weirdest_ friends," Dugan muttered as I moved forwards and forced out a bone harder than steel and got to work hacking through the chains. Dugan nudged Bucky and muttered,

"Imagine her half of the church at the wedding, eh?"

"Much better," Victor said as the last chain fell free with a clatter and he stood up, flexing his arms and rolling his shoulder. Jimmy was small but well-built while Victor was all bulging muscle. They looked nothing alike despite sharing a parent. That was also part of the reason I suspected there was more to their past than they'd ever told.

"This the only one of those bastards left alive?" Victor asked with a feral smile, gesturing to the scientist, who moaned and collapsed back against the wall weakly. "You kill all the rest of them? Ah, what am I supposed to do for fun now?"

I put a hand on his shoulder warningly. "Victor…," I said slowly as Steve and the other Commandoes tensed. _"Don't."_

Victor shrugged and I pulled my hand off. "Ah well, he's not the one that tied me up anyway." Foolishly I relaxed. _"But he'll do."_

Victor lunged with a roar. The scientist screamed as his head hit the wall behind him with a sickening crack. I reacted in a blur but it was still too late. Victor was capable of lifting and throwing a car even on his bad days. Crushing a human trachea was nothing. The moment his hands got around the scientists throat it was all over.

"Victor!" I cursed him, and lunged, wrapping an arm around his throat and heaving him back. I put a little more force into it than I meant to. Instead of just pulling him away from my teammates, I threw him into the opposite wall. Brick and plaster cracked with the force and I winced. Oh dear. This wouldn't be good.

"Stay back," I said darkly, stepping in front of Steve, Bucky, and the others.

"Josie?" Steve asked uncertainly.

"I didn't mean to, he'll be angry now," I murmured. "He could take you all apart, and yes, I'm including you there Steve."

"Angry? You just threw me into a damn wall!" Victor roared. I heard the click of a gun over my shoulder. I turned around. Of course, Bucky had raised his sidearm and had it trained on Victor. I smiled at him kindly.

"Sweetheart, that won't work on him," I explained gently, and Victor lunged with a roar, claws extending from his fingers. I kicked off and we crashed together with a loud bang. He grappled me to the floor and I twisted and writhed out from under him, locking my legs around his neck and jerking. I knew better than to stay close to him though – in a contest of strength Victor would take me apart. I was faster, more agile, more flexible. I also healed ever so slightly faster, which might be my saving grace here.

Victor grabbed my arm and wrenched it up, biting into it deeply. I snarled in pain and ripped my arm free. He spat out the chunk of my arm still in his mouth, my skin already knitting back together. I swung a kick at him and scrambled away. Victor shot up and charged at me. I sidestepped, but he grabbed me around the throat and hurled me into the wall. I hardened my skeleton at the last second. The whole room shook as bits of brick and mortar rained down around me. I slid down the wall, shaking my head to clear it.

"Don't get involved!" I snapped at Steve when I saw him raise his shield.

"We're just working out some anger, right, pussy cat?" Victor sniggered as he stood over me.

"Right," I agreed, and kicked off the wall, sliding between his legs. I swung my arms around and hamstrung both of his legs as I passed. Victor howled and dropped as I caught myself and flipped upright. In a minute his tendons were healed and he picked himself up. I leaped up and caught a pipe protruding from the ceiling. Victor ran at me once more and I kicked him in the face, using the added momentum to flip myself up and perch on the two-inch wide pipe in a crouch. I tilted my head and smirked.

"High ground's mine."

Victor grabbed one of the shelving units and ripped a shelf out. He smirked back. "Not for long." He hurled the board at me. I hooked my knees over the pipe and swung down, the board cutting through the air where I'd just been and splintering against the opposite wall.

Victor seized my around the neck and I did the same. He ripped me from the pipe and slammed me face-first into the ground. I gasped as I hit, my nose breaking – that was cartilage, not bone, so I couldn't harden it. Eyes watering, I rolled to avoid what would have been a kick in my side.

That's when the gun went off.

* * *

 **Ist hier noch jemand wie wir hier? – Is there anyone else like us here?**

 **Nein – No**

 **Du lügst! – You lie!**

 **I-im Keller! Ein Monster! – In the basement! A monster!**

 **Ein Monster? – A monster?**

 **Ein Mann mit Zähnen und Klauen. Ein Werwolf! – A man with teeth and claws. A werewolf!**

 **Ein Werwolf? – A werewolf?**

 **Geh nicht da rein, er wird dich in Stücken zerreißen! Er hat schon fünf Männer umgebracht! - Don't go in there, he'll tear you apart! He's killed five men!**

 **Ich glaube nicht, dass er mich umbringen wird... Er ist ein alter Freund - I don't think he'll kill me. I think... he's an old friend.**


	43. Serious Conversations

Chapter 43: Serious Conversations

Victor and I both froze and clutched our ears, turning to look. Bucky was standing there with his hand on his hip, his 1911 raised and pointing at the ceiling. He scowled at Victor.

"Hey buddy. I know she can take it, but you mind not beating up my fiancée?" he snapped, eyes flashing angrily. He leveled his gun at Victor's face. "You may be tough but I'm pretty sure a bullet in your brain will put you down at least for a while."

Victor turned to look at me incredulously. "You're getting _married?"_ he demanded.

"Yes," I said, and snapped my nose back into place, wiping away the trickling tears. I looked down at the missing section of my sleeve that had come away when Victor tore off part of my arm. I glared at him darkly. "That _hurt,_ Creed."

Victor had the good sense to look at least a little abashed, reaching back to rub a clawed hand against the back of his neck. "Sorry. Pent up energy, ya know?"

I kept glaring. " _This_ is why Jimmy is my favorite," I huffed. Victor scowled.

"That's not nice, pussy cat."

"Neither is biting off part of my arm, _kitty!"_ I snapped back Victor sighed.

" _Alright_ , sorry I bit you."

I sucked in my cheeks and scowled, but the glare lessened a little. "Thank you," I said primly, straightening my shirt. "Sorry I hamstrung you."

"Yeah. And hey, congratulations on getting engaged," Victor added, slapping me on the shoulder and grinning. It was a bit more menacing than the average grin, given that his teeth were so long and pointed. Also, they were still stained with my blood. He looked to Bucky. "You're a lucky guy."

"I know," Bucky replied simply, like Victor had just told him the sky was blue or Steve was a walking flag. Like it was a statement of indisputable fact. He raised an eyebrow at Victor. "You gonna hit her anymore? Am I gonna have to shoot you?"

"Nah." Victor shook his head. "Just needed to tear into someone, you know? That scientist didn't last and pussy cat here can take it."

"I _despise_ that nickname," I groaned as everyone stared at Victor. Clearly, they did not get it. I didn't expect them to. It was a feral thing.

"We've got… a truck out front," Steve said slowly. "You need a ride anywhere?"

Victor looked at me. "You seen Jimmy lately?"

"Last I heard he'd been called back to Canada," I said as we headed towards the door, all of us heading back to see what the others had found.

"He'll be back over here soon then," Victor shrugged carelessly. "Think you can take me over towards Lorraine?"

"What's in Lorraine?" Steve asked somewhat suspiciously. Unsurprisingly, he was still looking at Victor like he was a ticking time bomb. He sort of was. Victor's bloodthirsty grin didn't help.

"Fighting, what else?"

"Whoa!"

Falsworth's face spoke for most of the Howling Commandoes as we emerged. The others had already loaded up the truck and appeared to just be waiting on us to get out. They all gaped at Victor. I didn't blame them. He was even bigger that Steve, with a good four inches and almost forty pounds on the Star-Spangled Man With a Plan. Not to mention his generally rougher appearance – pointed, dirty nails, scruff, and longer hair.

"Everyone, this is Victor Creed," I said, gesturing to him. "Victor, this is Dum Dum Dugan, Steve Rogers, Morita, Falsworth, Dernier, Jones, and Bucky Barnes." At his name I stepped closer to Bucky and took his hand, looking up at him fondly.

"Oh sure, leave me out, it's been a pattern today."

Yori was scowling, sitting in the cab with the door open. She hoped out and only winced slightly when the landing jostled her wound, a long strip of bandages tied around her middle. She glared at Steve.

"You and me – we're sparring when we get home and I'm throwing you into at least two things. Be ready for that."

Steve was unrepentant. "It was for your own good."

Yori scowled. "I was _manhandled_ , Rogers. I don't _like_ to be manhandled." Her hand drifted to the hilt of her sword. "Wonder how much secretaries would like him if I cut his pretty head off…," she muttered quietly enough that only those of us with advanced hearing could hear, that being Steve, Victor, and me. Steve flushed and Victor snorted.

"So you're Yori Tsukuda, eh?" he asked, approaching her and looking her up and down. "Damn, pussy cat wasn't kidding. You _are_ a demon, aren't you?"

Yori scowled and I winced. Well, Victor had just firmly planted himself on Yori's hit list. "Careful, or I'll drag you back to hell with me," she said darkly, turning on her heel and stalking toward the back of the truck.

"Already been there!" Victor called after her, laughing. He looked from Yori to me. "How old is she, did you say?"

I rolled my eyes. "A hundred and ten, Victor, but _she_ doesn't feel the need to go fight in every war."

"Damn," Victor cursed.

"How old are you?" Jones asked, looking at him sideways.

"I look pretty good for a guy past middle age, huh?"

"And he will tell you all about the Great War and possibly the Civil one too if you ask him," I said as I passed to join Yori in the truck, Bucky on my arm. We climbed in the back and Bucky gently took the arm Victor had gotten a bite of. Yori watched us while pretending not to as Bucky turned my arm this way and that, looking for lasting damage.

"There's not even a mark," he murmured in awe, but it was tinged with something darker, sadder.

"There never is," I said, placing my hand over his, but I was frowning. Something was wrong. "Bucky, what's bothering you?" I asked in concern, but he just shook his head as the rest of the team began to load up, Victor already passionately retelling bloody, violent trench stories from fighting with Jimmy in the Great War.

* * *

Victor had worked his way back to the Somme by the time we stopped for the night in the woods. He told stories around the fire as the men ate, listening in rapt fascination. I didn't blame them. It was one thing to read about history in a textbook and another entirely to hear it from someone who was there. I'd learned that first with Yori and then again when I met Victor and Jimmy.

I had heard most of the stories before so I wasn't as intrigued. Mostly I was torn between watching Yori glare at Steve when he asked if she was feeling okay and worrying about Bucky. He'd been quiet since we'd freed Victor and while I knew he wasn't pleased with me getting knocked around I sensed that there was more to it than that.

As Victor was recounting his time in France and Belgium, I caught Bucky's eye across the fire and jerked my head towards the trees. Steve and Yori looked up as we moved off from the camp but didn't say anything. I guided Bucky deep into the trees until I could no longer hear Victor, which also meant that he could no longer hear me. I didn't want him to hear the private moments Bucky and I had.

I stepped up to Bucky, placing a hand on his cheek. Stubble tickled my palm as I kissed him tenderly. "What's wrong?" I asked, leaving my hand in place when I pulled back. "You've been quiet."

Bucky sighed and reached up to cup my hand. "It's… well, it's _not_ nothing," he admitted with a humorless smile, "but there's nothing that can be done about it anyway, so I don't see how it matters."

I reached up to cup his other cheek with my free hand, pulling him down so that our foreheads touched. Eyes locked I breathed, "It bothers you. It matters."

Again Bucky sighed. He pulled out of my palms but kept a grip on my hand, tugging me to sit on a downed tree. We sat down next to each other and I breathed deeply the scent of night air and Bucky. It made my mouth water. If he wasn't looking so upset I might have crawled into his lap right then.

"What's wrong?" I asked again.

Bucky leaned forwards, elbows on his knees, palms clasped together. He stared sadly at the ground between his feet. Deeply concerned by his uncharacteristic melancholy, I placed a hand on his back and rubbed comfortingly, waiting for him to speak.

When he did, he surprised me. "I'm going to die."

I blinked. "I… I suppose so, yes," I agreed uncertainly. Bucky looked up at me, agony in his eyes.

"You don't get it. You, Yori, and apparently Victor and Jimmy. A hundred years from now, you all will still be around, probably still looking about like this too. By that time I'll be long dead. And before that, I'll get old. I'll get old and wrinkly and I'll die and you'll still be just like that and I don't like that idea, I really don't."

My mouth dropped open. I knew this was the case, of course I knew. It was a given – Bucky was human. His blue eyes made him a mutant but like he'd once said, pretty eyes weren't super powers like I had. He was completely correct – he'd get old and die in the time it would take me to get the start of a couple wrinkles. The body technically started to die at around age 25, but mine would keep going thanks to my regeneration. When I was seventy I'd probably look much the way I did now.

"I didn't think that mattered," I said quietly.

"Didn't think it mattered?" Bucky huffed. "Of course it matters! I can't marry you with this hanging over us!"

I recoiled, feeling like he'd just ripped my heart out of my chest. Tears swam in my eyes as I stared at him in horror.

"You don't… want to marry me?" I whimpered. Those few words hurt more than Victor throwing me into that wall had. This hurt worse than what the doctor at Auschwitz had done. This literally hurt worse than dying.

Bucky's eyes softened and he reached out to me, drawing me to his side and rocking me. "Oh Belle, of _course_ I want to marry you. But it's not fair."

"Life rarely is," I sniffled into his shoulder. "What's not fair?"

"I don't want to do that to you – tie you to me, saddle you with me when I'm old and wrinkled and bald and drooling on myself."

I pulled back, frowning as I stared at him. "Other couples go through that, what makes us different?" I demanded. Bucky groaned.

"Because I don't want you to see me like that!" he burst out. "I don't want you to see me when I can't walk or when I'm bald and wrinkled and ugly and you're still as gorgeous as you are today. Forget how I'll look, how would we look to other people? They'd think you were some kind of… of I don't even know what, but they'd say some nasty things about you for it Belle and I don't want you do have to go through that."

"You think I'll care how you _look?_ " I demanded, offended now. "Bucky, I'll admit I'm fond of the way you look but you could have warts and a leer and I'd still love you because I don't love your body, I love you! _You,_ Bucky! I know no one likes looking old but-"

"It's not even that, really," Bucky admitted, cutting me off. I shut my mouth with a snap.

"Well, then what is it?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

"I'll be weak," Bucky admitted quietly. His cheeks were red. He didn't like talking about this, I knew he didn't, but I needed him to. I needed to know what was bothering him so badly about this. I'll admit, it bothered me too. I wished Bucky could stay with me as long as I lived, stay as young and good-looking as he was now, but that wasn't reality.

"You are so strong," Bucky continued. "I see it all the time; I saw it when you were fighting Creed today. You're so strong, you and people like you. I'm human. I'm going to get sick and old and I'm going to become a burden to you. I'm going to die and I don't think I'm being cocky when I say that's gonna hurt you. I don't… I don't want you to have to go through all that for my sake."

"You don't want to inconvenience me by getting old and dying?" I demanded incredulously, standing up and pacing furiously. "You don't… _You idiot_!" I ranted. "You think I haven't thought about all of this before? You know that I never expressed an interest in any man before you, and I tried very hard not to feel what I feel for you!"

Bucky looked hurt now. "You… did?"

"Of course!" I huffed. "Because I knew that unless I found a man with similar abilities to mine – which thus far limits me to Jimmy and Victor and I like them fine but I don't want to _marry_ either of them – I was going to have to deal with my husband getting old before me and dying. But then I figured something out." I dropped to the ground on my knees in front of Bucky, holding his face between my palms and forcing him to look me in the eye because it was important he understand this.

"I love you," I said firmly. "I love you more than I ever thought anyone could love someone else and I'd rather take fifty, sixty, years with you even if those later years aren't the way they are now than try and cut you out of my life. I'd rather have a life with you than a life trying to carve you out of my heart because that would hurt more than anything, more than getting tossed into a wall and more than getting dissected alive."

Bucky winced. "Please don't," he said throatily. "Don't mention that, I can't think about that, especially not right now…"

I pulled off my engagement ring and held it up so that Bucky could see the inscription.

"Only forever… and an eternity after that," I recited. "I knew what that entailed when I said it, Bucky, and I meant every word."

Bucky closed his eyes but I could see him wavering, see him start to loosen up and accept that I really did want to be with him for the rest of his life, wrinkles and cane and all.

"People will say some cruel things about us in forty years, Belle," Bucky said tiredly. "They won't be nice."

I growled and grabbed his shoulders, swinging up so that I was straddling his lap and staring down at him, eyes blazing. "Fuck. Them." I growled. Bucky actually let out a startled laugh at that. "If they wanna say you're some old pervert who landed a hot skirt for less-than-loving reasons then they'll have to deal with me."

"If they say I'm some kind of cougar?" Bucky asked.

"I'll inform them that that's just fine, because I'm a tiger." I kissed him hard.

"If they say you're probably just some dumb girl after my insurance money?" Bucky's voice held laughter again, which I took as a good sign.

"I'll throw my doctorate and a wad of hundreds in their face and say money's not and issue and I'm far from dumb," I retorted, kissing him again, hard.

"If they say I'm just with you so I have someone pretty in my bed?" Bucky's voice was going hoarse as I ground down against him a little.

"Then I'll tell them," I growled in his ear, "that I don't need a bed, and watch them sputter."

And then I knocked him off the log, kissing and nipping and licking as hands and clothes flew.

* * *

Bucky and I were reasonably well put together when we trooped back into camp. But we couldn't hide some things. Yori raised an eyebrow at me and smirked as she took in a leaf in my hair. I hastily tugged it out. Victor flashed us a crude smile and pointedly inhaled.

"Pervert," I muttered as I passed him.

"I'm not the one screwing in the woods," he shot back just as quietly. Bucky choked on his tongue and staggered as he heard. I bit my lip as we both knelt down to lay out our sleeping rolls for the night.

"How did he know?" Bucky hissed to me. I blushed.

"He could smell it," I replied just as quietly. Bucky looked horrified and across the fire I saw Steve looking equally red. I winced as I realized that even if he didn't have Victor's heightened sense of smell his heightened hearing would let him hear the exchange. I saw Yori smirk and lean over to whisper something in Steve's ear that sent him scrambling towards his bed roll, roughly the color of a tomato, Yori laughing wildly.


	44. Sparring with Steve

Chapter 44: Sparring with Steve

They didn't get back to London for a while, given the slight detour they took to take Victor to Lorraine. He'd grinned and eagerly hauled himself out of the truck, eyes already gleaming at the prospect of a fight. Yori remembered those years, when all she wanted was the next fight, something to unleash her ever-simmering core of anger on. Over the years she'd mellowed considerably, although a large part of her still liked a good fight. It was comforting in that it was familiar. She knew how to do it, she'd been doing it all her life.

In a way, she preferred fighting to talking. She could fight, she knew she could fight, she had decades of experience. It was talking that she was bad at. For so many years the only times people had spoken to her was to insult or belittle or ridicule her, and the only times she'd spoken back had been to snarl out retaliations and threats. Midori had been the one exception, and for so long, Yori had assumed she would be the only exception.

Then she found her calling – mentorship. She knew the horrors of the world so Yori could caution younger mutants against them. All she could do was share her story and help them become strong enough to defend themselves if her past became their future.

Then she found the Howling Commandoes. Men who knew what she looked like, knew what she was capable of, knew what she had done. They didn't hate her. They didn't insult her. They didn't ridicule her. They didn't fear her. They liked her. They teased her like they would any normal woman, they talked to her like she wasn't what she was and that was all she'd ever wanted.

More than that, she found Steve Rogers. Was it any surprise that she was so taken with him, she thought bitterly as she strode down the hall. She hadn't had much good in her life and then here came this man who was the embodiment of everything that was good. He was just and fair, kind and strong and brave and caring. He was smart and handsome, he was fun to tease. He spoke to her, looked at her, like she was normal. She shouldn't really be surprised that she fell for that.

Damned if she'd ever tell him though, for so many reasons. The most important being that his heart was already well and truly taken by Peggy Carter. Yori sometimes wished she could hate Peggy for that but she also counted the Brit as a friend. She couldn't hate the two of them for caring for each other. Put simply, Peggy met him first. She beat Yori to the punch, and that was just how it happened.

Another reason was because she didn't understand her own feelings. Yori wasn't so good with positive feelings. For a long time the only positive feelings she'd ever had were for other mutants. She'd gotten used to the idea that they only people she'd ever care about would also be mutants. In a way, Steve was that, but he also wasn't.

She knew she cared about him, and more than just as a teammate. Yori wanted him to be happy, wanted him to enjoy his life. That was something friends wanted, right? But she also wanted him to touch her, kiss her. Friends didn't want that. Then again, Steve was ridiculously good-looking, so maybe what she was feeling was simple lust. No, she'd felt lust before, this wasn't lust. She felt admiration and respect for him as her taichō, she'd figured that much out at least.

Brutish as it sounded, Yori preferred to just hit what she didn't understand and move on. If she could hit it then she could beat it into submission until it slunk back off into the shadows and she didn't have to deal with it anymore. She was good at beating things up, at killing things. She was literally evolved to be a better hunter than the average person and so that was the skill set she employed whenever she could. Meaningful conversations weren't her strong suit. They made her uncomfortable. But put a sword in her hand? She was unstoppable.

That's why she was glad to have a chance to spar with Steve. Maybe somewhere among all the punching and kicking and panting and sweating and perhaps even a little blood she'd figure things out. In battle, strange as it sounded, she was calm. She knew battle, it was familiar. She simply let herself flow and she came out on top. Maybe after a spar with Steve she'd come out on top of her emotions. Who knew? Maybe she was just attracted to his strength? Maybe if she knocked him around a little and proved he wasn't as strong as he seemed she'd be able to get over this whatever-it-was and go on about her life.

Yori was determined as she knocked on Steve's door one night. She'd chosen night for the fight so that they wouldn't be disturbed. Ordinarily she didn't mind people watching her spar, even encouraged it so that people could learn, but this time she wanted it to be just her and Steve.

Steve looked like he was about to head to bed, wearing sweats and a white undershirt that showed the rippling muscles of his arms and clung tightly to his chest and torso. He was barefoot and his hair was rumpled. If he weren't so large, he might have looked like a boy just climbed out of bed in search of a glass of water. It was sort of adorable.

Yori mentally slapped herself, crossing her arms, cocking her hips, and planting a smirk on her face.

"Yori?" Steve said in surprise. "What are you doing here so late? Is something wrong?"

Yori tilted her head and smirked wider. "You recall that I need to throw you into some things, correct?"

Steve grunted. "Yori, you're injured," he said, exasperated. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why Yori refused to just sit down and take a break. Most people would be glad of a respite after getting shot but no, she wanted to kick him for trying to take care of her.

"Am I?" Yori challenged, lifting the edge of her shirt and flashing him her side. There was a quarter-sized circle of raised, red scar tissue. The wound might have been months old instead of barely a week.

"Advanced healing," Yori purred as Steve politely averted is eyes from her midsection.

"I was just trying to take care of you," Steve tried to explain.

"I can take care of myself," Yori said coldly. Steve sighed. He'd just committed the cardinal sin with Yori – he'd cast aspersions on her abilities. Or at least, she thought he had.

"I know you can," he assured her. "I was just worried."

"Steve." Yori was amused. "I've been stoned, shot, stabbed… and, on one very memorable occasion, poisoned. A single bullet to the side will not even slow me down."

"Maybe not," Steve allowed, but he was getting a little frustrated at her. "But you don't seem to understand that you c _an_ slow down. You've got Josie, the rest of the team, me. If you get hurt we're happy to pick up the slack and let you focus on healing. We'd prefer it."

Yori blinked and he knew he'd thrown her for a loop. She wasn't used to having people to rely on. She was pretty terribly at relying on others, actually.

"If I need a break," she said slowly, "I will let you know. But I don't want you worrying about me."

Steve shrugged. "Can't help it. You're a member of my team. Of course I worry about you."

Yori's face fell ever so slightly. A member of his team. Yes, that's what she was.

A spark of annoyance flamed in her. He was supposed to be so great and wonderful but he couldn't even tell how much she cared about him. He couldn't see how much it hurt when he said things like that, how much it hurt when he looked at Peggy the way he did.

Almost immediately Yori felt bad. Advanced being though he was he was still human and he wasn't perfect, no matter what the media would have the American people believe of him. He could be as oblivious as the next person and he had a right to say how he felt even if she didn't want to hear it.

But it was the push she needed to remind her of the fight that she really wanted.

"Well I'm healed, so you don't need to worry about me anymore. Now what you need to do is spar with me," she said firmly. Steve sighed and dragged his hand across his eyes.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Steve, I once retrieved money from a man whose _grandfather_ owed me a hundred yen," Yori said with a faint smile. "I am _very_ good at holding on to things."

"Do we have to do this now?" Steve asked, glancing at the clock beside his bed and seeing that it was nearing nine o'clock at night. He would have preferred to get in bed. Then again, maybe a good workout before bed would wear him out and he'd sleep better. That was one good thing about sparring with Josie or Yori. The other guys tried, but the girls were the only ones who could really stand their ground against him in the ring.

"I'm awake. You're awake." Yori shrugged. "Why not?"

Steve didn't have an argument for that aside from simply wanting to get in bed, which he doubted Yori would care about. So he sighed and gave in, grabbing some tape and wrapping his knuckles as he followed her down to the gym and trying to ignore how mean it always made him feel to hit a woman over half a foot shorter than him, who he outweighed by at least a hundred pounds. Within one hit from Yori, though, he was usually reminded that she wasn't a normal woman.

Steve finished taping his knuckles and hopped into the ring. Yori paused long enough to pull off her shoes and socks and stretch upwards once before leaping up, flapping her wings, and soaring into the ring to face Steve down.

Steve observed Yori's stance, the one she always used. Her rear leg was bent slightly and the front was pointed, her toes only barely brushing the floor. Her hands were raised but instead of coiled like most people she just held them up, palms facing, and let her fingers remain loose. He'd never understood her stance, never seen anything like it, but he assumed there was a reason she used it so he didn't question her.

Yori assumed her favored cat stance to begin and waited with bated breath, eyes glowing, for Steve to make the first move. The silence stretched on and neither of them moved. Yori grew frustrated. He never could bring himself to throw the first punch, she didn't know why she even bothered.

She threw a punch that wasn't even really meant to connect. It was just to draw a reaction out of him and get him to start moving. As expected, he reacted, blocking her half-hearted punch. Yori abandoned the punch and turned that momentum into a jumping kick, her foot spinning around aimed for Steve's shoulder.

He dodged her kick easily and raised a knee towards her stomach. Yori dodged and he turned it into a kick instead. Her arm hooked down and around, catching his leg and throwing him away. Steve used the spin and turned into a hammer fist aimed for her temple. Yori ducked and again Steve tried for a kick, this time aiming for her lowered face. Yori smirked and bent back and around, catching his thigh and straightening. The muscles in his thigh pulled and caught as she forced his leg higher and higher. Yori easily swept his remaining leg and dropped to one knee next to him, one hand still holding his leg up.

Steve blinked as he hit the ground and found Yori kneeling next to him, her eyes glowing with an intensity that made his stomach flip nervously. She was threatening in a fight, and the expression she always wore definitely didn't make her any less unnerving. He always felt like prey. Her hand burned his thigh and he wondered if it was glowing green.

"That's one," Yori drawled. "I promised to throw you into two things as I recalled."

Steve groaned. He had no doubt she'd hold good to that promise. Yori released his leg and offered him a hand. Steve took it and she hauled him upright before taking a few paces back and settling into her stance again.

This time, Steve asked. "Why do you stand like that?" he asked, mirroring her and nodding to his pointed foot.

Yori raised an eyebrow and looked surprised. "Cat stance?" Steve didn't know it had a name but that seemed apt. Yori smirked, surprised he was interested. Up until now everything she'd seen him use in a fight was a mix of boxing and standard Army training. A few of the men had asked how she pulled off some of her more dramatic and flashy moves, but they quickly lost interest when they realized the kind of effort it took to make it look effortless.

"I'll show you," she purred, and Steve got the feeling he'd just walked into this cat's trap. "Take your normal stance," Yori encouraged, walking towards him. Steve did so, straightening up, coiling his fists, and putting his foot flat on the floor. Yori opened her mouth and he expected her to start lecturing. Instead, she dropped in a blur and swung her leg around. Steve dropped to one knee, his other leg extended out in front of him. Yori continued her spin, straightening as she went, and on her second revolution she grabbed a fistful of his hair and aimed her knee for his face, pausing an inch from his nose. Steve froze, startled.

"Two things," Yori said quietly.

Surprisingly, she wasn't enjoying sparring with Steve as much as she'd expected. He was her problem but beating him up wouldn't work because she felt bad every time she landed any kind of serious blow. When she walked into the room she fully expected to happily blow off some steam whaling on Steve and come out as free of these confusing feelings as she'd been when she'd first met the man.

That clearly wasn't going to happen.

Yori lowered her knee and released his hair. Unable to resist, she coaxed a few soft strands back into place before offering her hand. Steve was surprised by the tenderness and intimacy of the gesture but he supposed it was probably just because she was the one who rumpled his hair she felt she should be the one to fix it. That seemed like a very Yori line of logic to him. In reality, Yori was just selfishly indulging a minor fantasy of running her fingers through his hair.

"Now try the cat stance," Yori said, quickly turning away and returning to her starting position. Steve nodded and wordlessly assumed the stance. She eyed him up and down before nodding in approval. Again she came forward and swept his leg but it just jerked him a bit, it didn't send him to the ground. It didn't even really knock him off balance that badly.

"You see?" Yori asked once she'd straightened up from the sweep. "Your weight is all on your back leg so anyone who tried to sweep you won't be able to take you down. And if they try to go for your back leg, you can stomp to either block or hurt them. Then they're on the ground and you're in the advantageous position."

That made a lot of sense and it was sort of brilliant. Just by adjusting his stance a little he already had a little bit of an upper hand on his opponent.

Yori liked this. Teaching people how to fight was almost as familiar to her as fighting and it sat much better in her stomach than punching him. She found herself falling into a comfortable pattern as she motioned her intent to attack again. Steve dropped into a cat stance and Yori came at him in a sweep. Again it was ineffectual but this time she kept the fight going.

As Steve fought she began to pick out a predictable pattern, one she'd faced and overcome so many times that it was laughable. He was relying on his superior size and strength, throwing heavy punches and kicks and trying to stay close where he had a chance to overpower her.

"Stop that!" Yori said sharply, and smacked the back of his palm with the flat end of her tail. "You're fighting like an amateur! Any idiot facing down a woman or someone smaller will try and take them out with brute strength. You won't be fighting amateurs, taichō!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Steve countered, throwing another punch.

"It takes twice as much energy to swing and miss as it does to swing and hit," Yori recited, leaning aside from a punch and letting it sail over her shoulder to illustrate her point. "I have the advantage of being smaller and harder to hit. All I have to do is stay out of arm's length and let you wear yourself out." Steve drew back a fist to hit her. "Then, with one hit-" Yori dove under the punch and came up behind him, swinging around his extended arm and using it as leverage to haul herself into the air. She wasn't tall enough but with a little leap she was able to pull Steve into a headlock, her knees braced against the sway of his back for leverage.

"I win the match," Yori whispered in his ear, tightening her arms and cutting off the circulation to his brain for just a second to make a point of the position he was in.

"So how do I fight against that?" Steve asked. Yori let him go and slid down his back, striding from behind him and observing him carefully.

"Be smarter," was all she could say. "In a way fighting is like chess. You have to think more than one punch ahead. If you know something, chances are your opponent knows it too. Always assume your opponent is a genius until they prove they're an idiot. If you know that they can use their size to get behind you, plan accordingly. If you know they're faster than you, try to put them at a disadvantage. Of course, they may realize what you're doing. That's where fighting becomes mental."

"It sounds unrealistic, keeping all of that in your mind at once," Steve reasoned. "Especially if you have teammates to keep track of as well."

Yori shrugged and lowered her eyes, still pacing around him. "Either it becomes instinctual through practice or you have it conditioned into you. It's just a matter or learning a new way to think."

Here was one of those moments were Steve caught a glimpse at the deep well of emotion Yori kept hidden, the soft, mournful way she spoke of having that way of thinking conditioned. He was pretty sure he knew which way Yori had learned this lesson.

"Then of course," Yori continued breezily, "there is-" She spun into a vicious kick aimed at his size. Steve jerked in surprise and caught her leg in both hands. Yori surprised him by letting out that shriek she could make that was a mix of demonic and avian right in his face. He staggered back in surprise and she lightly punched him on the shoulder in rebuke.

"Surprise," Yori said with a faint smirk. "It sounds cliché, but you should expect the unexpected, especially if you're fighting a mutant or someone like you, someone enhanced. When you walk into a fight with another person they aren't going to give you a dossier of their skills so you can plan how to fight them effectively. That's a particular disadvantage fighting someone like Josie or me. Obviously I can fly and I have a tail, but you don't know how I might use my tail." Her hands glowed green as she held them up. "You wouldn't know about this until I chose to reveal it and by then..." She thrust her hands forwards. Her glowing fingertips stopped an inch from Steve's chest over his beating heart. The electric sort of buzz coming off of them made him shiver as she finished, "it's too late."

"So what if I do fight someone who has wings?" Steve asked her, examining her own. "Why couldn't they just fly up into the air with a machine gun and start raining down bullets? Why don't you?"

Yori huffed. "Because wings are also a disadvantage. What's easier to hit, this?" She stood in front of him, arms and wings tucked in. "Or this?" She spread her wings wide, displaying a target more than double her usual size. "If I'm shooting at someone chances are good they'll shoot back and if I'm flying I'm an easy target. Nothing hurts quite like an injured wing and if I go down then I have the added problem of _gravity_ ," she said pointedly.

Her wings flared and she battered him with them, buffeting wind into his face. It wasn't painful but it was definitely disorienting and he didn't doubt that if she actually chose to hit him with her wings it would definitely sting.

"On the ground wings can be another weapon," Yori explained. "Or they can be a disadvantage."

"How so?" Steve asked, fascinated. Yori had literally a century of experience fighting and she was a good teacher. She laid things out well and she knew what she was talking about, it was easy to read in her confident posture and her skill in demonstration. She was fascinating to listen to, and it as clear she actually enjoyed the topic from a purely theoretical standpoint as much as she enjoyed it from a practical standpoint. He'd never really considered a woman having a violent hobby the same way a man might box as a hobby, but if he had to guess he'd just fount Yori's favorite pastime.

"A similar problem to being in the air," Yori admitted. "More surface area means more places to grab and if you can get your hand on someone's wing you can really ruin their day."

"How?" Steve asked.

Yori winced. "Break it. Break the wing and trust me when I say they _will_ drop. They won't be getting up any time soon either. Wings are heavy. It would be like breaking an arm and having a weight hanging off the broken part."

"How would you break a wing?" Steve asked curiously, hoping he'd never have to use the knowledge. But he knew a woman who pulled out her ribs routinely, a young boy who could crush metal in his palm, a man who had retractable claws, and a couple who manipulated light and shadows. There was no telling what other kinds of people he hadn't yet met and there was no guarantee they'd all be on his side.

Yori hesitated. She didn't like the idea of teaching Steve mostly because she was a hands-on teacher. Teaching him hands on meant that her wings would be the stand in they used and she didn't like people touching her wings. It wasn't an arrogance thing, like many people suspected. She was proud of her wings, sure, but it was more that her wings were incredibly sensitive. That was why getting hurt there was so painful. They were also very personal. For whatever reason in her mind having someone grab her wings without asking would be the same as a man slapping her on the rear as she walked past.

Yori took a deep breath. "Alright," she said, and stood in front of Steve with her back to him, flaring her wings slightly so that he could get a good look at him. "The membrane is relatively fragile, so if you can get a grip on the edge you could tear it like paper with only a little effort and that would effectively ground the person."

Steve hesitated. He'd seen Yori snap at Falsworth for touching her wings before and he knew she stiffened up and froze whenever Josie grabbed them in a spar. But the way she was standing was a definite invitation to touch and he was admittedly very curious. He itched to find out what they felt like.

"Can I touch?" he asked, and Yori blinked, surprised but pleased that he'd actually asked instead of getting grabby.

"Yes," Yori breathed. Steve carefully trailed his fingers down the membrane to find the edge of it and Yori tensed slightly and had to bite back a moan. She'd given him permission to try out a battle move on her wings, not to caress them. How was she supposed to keep it together if he was pulling things like this?!

Steve was fascinated by the texture. It was like the softest, smoothest, thinnest leather he'd ever felt. He could faintly feel her heartbeat pumping through the membrane if he really focused and up close he could see the faint tracery of veins, usually obscured by the dark color. They were warm with her body heat too. It smacked Steve in the face that he was touching _her,_ not _her wings_ , but _her,_ and suddenly that one long touch he'd allowed himself seemed incredibly presumptuous.

Yori was incredibly glad Steve didn't play around anymore and got back to business, grabbing the membrane between both hands and pulling ever so slightly. Yori winced.

"Okay!" she said edgily. "You see? It's very fragile."

Sensing that he'd hurt her, Steve immediately dropped the wing. Yori was grateful as she continued to explain, "You can grab the bone and break it obviously. You could force it against something but the bones in a wing will likely be hollow, so you could probably break them with your bare hands.

Wary of hurting her now, Steve took a hold of the skeletal structure that supported her wing and felt it. The bones certainly felt fragile in his hands, he mused, thin and light. He wagered it wouldn't take more than a quick flick of his wrist to break one of Yori's wings and he began to understand what Yori said about them being a disadvantage. He also began to realize why she didn't want people to touch them. Someone coming up and grabbing at her wings was about the same as someone coming up and grabbing at her throat.

"Final lesson on fighting someone with wings," Yori said, forcing her voice not to squeak as Steve lightly pressed and felt along the bone. This was a sparring lesson, damn it, this shouldn't be winding her up as much as it was! Over a century of celibacy did horrible things to a person…

"Grab both of them by the bones," Yori instructed, and Steve did so. "Now, from here you would normally pull them together but I _beg you not to try_ ," Yori added hastily. "It overextends the muscle and there's a horrible pulling feeling right between my wings that hurts like nothing I've ever felt."

Quickly Steve let go of the wings and Yori turned around to face him. He was surprised to see that she was red faced and her eyes were dilated a little. Apparently this was more painful than he thought. Immediately he felt bad for even asking. She'd been nice enough to explain and he'd hurt her. She hadn't even complained.

"That was really interesting," Steve said. "But I'm really going to get to bed now. Big day tomorrow, ah…" With that he beat a hasty retreat back to his room, feeling like a terrible person. Yori sagged back against the ropes and buried her face in her hands.

"I am in so much trouble," she said to no one in particular.


	45. Bedtime Talks

Chapter 45: Bedtime Talks

 _Miss Ealum,_

 _I am settling in well here. Thank you again for sending me to school, for paying my tuition. Thank your friend Stark for my clothes as well. Thus far my teachers praise my work. I'm trying very hard. My mother always wished for me to have a better education, and now I have the opportunity. Thank you for that. My English is improving quite a bit and I've started learning French as well. I am not so good at science, but I am slowly getting better._

 _Thank you_

 _Erik Lehnsherr_

 _P.S. Tell Yori that I am the only one here who can write my name in Japanese._

That was the first letter I received from Erik Lehnsherr and I treasured it, smiling as I read through every word. I knew he was a bright boy. He'd been through a lot, but I was confident that with a good education he could easily become a politician or industry leader or anything really. Though perhaps not a scientist…

"I'm going to tell Barnes you're mooning over letters from another man," Howard cooed in my ear. I huffed and flapped a hand at him, warding him off.

"It's from Erik," I explained, folding it up and tucking the letter in my pocket. "I think he's a little young for me." I pulled my mother's pocket watch out and flipped it open to check the time. I smiled as Bucky's enlistment picture grinned back at me cockily.

"Though you were a tiger, not a cougar," Howard said, playfully scratching at me. "Mrow."

"And they say you're a genius," I moaned before turning back to the microscope in front of me. The slide under it held some of Bucky's blood.

I was still examining samples, not out of fear, but out of interest. I was confident he wasn't going to spontaneously combust and now I wanted to see what had been done and how. Perhaps HYDRA made the compounds used on him with the hope for super soldiers, but there was nothing that said those same compounds couldn't have a better use.

Thus far I'd figured out that, as expected, he was more durable than before. The raid on the factory where we found Victor came to mind. Jumping off the guard house was no concern to me because my enhanced bones could take the shock and my healing factor would fix anything else. But a normal human should have at the very least twisted something. Bucky had leaped down with ease and walked away without so much as a limp.

In addition to that, I was quickly realizing, after getting a small cold sample, that he was resistant to most diseases. Obviously I hadn't tested it against anything particularly virulent or exotic, as much because I wasn't an expert in diseases as because I couldn't get my hands on samples. But I was very curious to see if some of the compounds could be used as immunizations.

It was ten o'clock at night before I had my answer. No, the compounds couldn't be used for immunizations. After I isolated and replicated them I tested them on different blood samples. The compound ate through the blood with extreme prejudice, destroying white blood cells with a rapidity that made my heart pound. Bucky had survived most of what was done to him by pure luck and every time I was reminded of that it made me realized all over again how much of a miracle it was that I still had him.

I sat up from my microscope and stretched, disappointed but happy to have an answer at least. I stood up and put my samples away in storage. When I emerged from storage, I saw Howard slumped over blueprints at a work table, his jacket thrown over the back of his chair and a bit of drool about to land on his paper.

"Howard," I said fondly, going to my desk and pulling out the thin blanket I kept wadded up in the bottom drawer for just such an occasion. I threw the blanket over Howard's shoulders. He shifted slightly and hummed, but didn't wake. I wadded up his jacket, knowing that despite the expensive label in the collar he wouldn't mind, and carefully lifted his head to slide the coat under him, protecting the paper from any more drool.

"Night Howard," I said, leaning down and kissing his temple.

"Hng, nigh' Josie."

I snorted, realizing that sometime in my mothering he'd woken up. A faint, sleepy smile tugged up the corners of his mouth.

"You want to go to bed?" I asked softly, rubbing his shoulders.

"No, 'm good," Howard said. With a large sigh he pulled the blanket tighter around him and drifted off again. I chuckled at that and left the lab, heading back to Bucky's room. Most of my things had made their way into his closet at this point, and seeing as we were engaged it was slightly less scandalous than before, but only slightly.

"Finally, I was worried you got sucked into a science spiral," Bucky said. He was lying in bed with his hands folded behind his head. His chest was bare and his head was tilted lazily to look at me. The room was dark but for the lamp he'd left on for me.

"Sorry to make you wait," I apologized as I began to strip off my skirt, jacket, and shirt. My pocket watch joined Bucky's on the bedside table. Bucky just watched as I got ready for bed, his eyes trailing me around the room with a soft warmth that made me smile as I slid into a nightgown.

"What?" I asked self-consciously, standing in the bathroom doorway as I pulled the bobby pins from my hair.

"I get to do this for the rest of my life," Bucky said, smiling softly.

"Do what?" I asked, bemused as I tugged a pair of pins out and my hair fell free around my shoulder.

"Watch you," Bucky replied simply. He pulled the sheets back and opened his arms. "I get to watch you live the little moments of your life. No other guy can say that."

I hummed and smiled, contented. "You know, every now and then you put even Austen to shame, my love," I said as I slid into bed next to him, curling against his side. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. I cleared my throat. "My hair is down, darling, you owe me a better kiss than that."

"I am terribly sorry, future Missus Barnes," Bucky said with faux horror. "I don't know what I was thinking." He kissed me sweetly, the long, slow kind of kiss that made my toes curl.

"Mm," I smiled as I pulled back, eyes at half-mast as I observed him. "Missus Barnes. That's a title I can definitely carry for the rest of my life."

Bucky shifted a little at that. "Maybe not. I mean…" he sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "I'm not saying I like the idea of you with another man but… after I'm gone if you met someone else… I wouldn't be mad, you know that?"

I huffed. "You need to forget this idea of you dying. We've got at least thirty or forty years before that happens."

"Maybe not," Bucky said softly. "It's a war, Belle. You can heal but I can't. A bullet can drop me like it can you, but I won't come back."

"Then I'll take all the bullets for you."

Bucky chuckled darkly. "Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better…"

I snorted. "Well I don't like talking about you dying. How about this? If, by some _miracle,_ long after you're gone some man comes along who can _possibly_ hold a candle to you, I promise I will at least give him a _chance."_

Bucky scoffed. "I can see you're taking this very seriously."

I shook my head. "I never expected I'd find anyone Bucky, and then I found you. I don't think I'm lucky enough to find two men as wonderful as you are in one lifetime, even if mine will be longer than average."

"I suppose I'll take that compliment," Bucky said, holding me closer. He breathed thoughtfully, "Missus Barnes." I felt more than heard him chuckle, my head on his chest. "Yeah, I like that. Missus Josie Barnes."

I chuckled, kissing his jaw. "Keep saying it and I'll be tempted to haul you off to a preacher right now, father's request be damned."

"Can't say I'd fight you too much," Bucky admitted. "Tell me Josie, where do you want to get married?"

"Well," I began, "I always thought that I'd get married on the Ealum property. Probably out behind the house, where you can see the wildflowers blooming in the meadow and the lake. Oh," I sighed, homesickness washing over me. "It's so gorgeous at sunset, Bucky, I want you to see it."

"Tell me about your home," Bucky requested, pulling me closer. "It'll be my bedtime story," he laughed into my hair, combing his fingers through it.

"Well, the property is called Willow Creek, despite the fact that the creek on the property is called Dodge Creek," I began.

"Why Willow?"

"Because the lane leading up to the house is lined with willow trees the whole way from the main road," I explained. "Nevade says that she and her husband Walker planted them so that when they wanted time alone they could just pick a tree to hide under and no one would be able to find them."

"I see the appeal," Bucky murmured in my ear. "We'll have to explore a tree or two of our own." I shivered as he dragged his fingers down my spine.

"Very tempting," I agreed. "Behind the house is the meadow, like I said. To the left and right are woods, with the barn and fields on the other side of the trees. The creek runs through the wood. In the spring and summer we'd go down to the creek and jump off the rocks into the water and go fishing. The trees are absolutely dripping with grape vine and we'd find the thickest pieces and use them as swings."

"Sounds perfect," Bucky breathed. "I'm imagining you in that creek, skirt hiked up, with two kids splashing each other around you. I'm lying on the bank watching my family and smiling."

I smiled, my heart swelling at the idea. "You'd want to leave Brooklyn?" I asked him. We'd never discussed where we'd live once we married. My heart belonged to Kentucky but I wouldn't blame Bucky for wanting to stay in Brooklyn. I'd be happy no matter where we lived, so long as I was with him.

"Your home sounds perfect," Bucky assured me. "Hey, do you have horses?"

I laughed. "Yes, why?"

"Nothing, I just always wanted to learn to ride a horse. There was a festival in Central Park once when Steve and I were teenagers. We were city boys and we thought it was so fun just riding around this little circle. Probably sounds silly to you."

"No," I assured him. "When we go home, I'll teach you how to ride a horse. Galloping across the meadows as fast as you can…" I breathed out, wishing I could do that exact thing right now. "There's no feeling like it."

"Promise you won't laugh if I fall off?"

"No."

Bucky laughed and pulled the pillow out from under his head, swatting me with it. "Hey!" I protested, giggling as I seized my own pillow and brought it up as a shield. The war began, me scrambling away from Bucky to get room to swing. He swatted me in the side as I got him around the head. He laughed and abandoned his pillow, tackling me to the bed.

"Yield," he said, pinning my wrists over my head. I smirked and flipped us. He groaned as I pinned down _his_ hands, my hair falling down in long sheets around us. "Should've seen that coming…" He smiled up at me and I grinned back.

"I want it all," I murmured against his lips. "Riding in the fields with you and picnics by the creek and playing in the water with our kids."

"A little girl with long, pretty hair and your brain," Bucky said, twirling his fingers around a strand of hair that had fallen near his hand. I flashed him that smile and retorted,

"A boy with your gorgeous eyes and your sense of humor." I sighed and let my weight rest on him. "It sounds perfect."

"It will be," Bucky promised. "I'll give you all of it, Belle. A perfect life, beautiful children to raise. They'll be as smart and stubborn as you and just as funny."

"God help us," I said drily.

There was a knock on the door. I called, "Come in."

Steve pushed the door open and immediately went red. I didn't blame him. Bucky was shirtless and I was in my nightie, lying on top of him. There was a pretty easy-to-draw conclusion there.

"Oh, uh… didn't mean to interrupt," he mumbled, staring pointedly at his feet.

"You didn't," Bucky assured him. He rose up and I moved off of him so that he could swing his legs over the side of the bed and sit up properly. "What's up?"

"Oh, ah, we're going to be going to be helping with relief and rescue in a town in France," Steve explained. He cleared his throat. "We leave in two days. I'll… uh…" His eyes flicked to me one more time, dragging up and down. On any other guy it would have been a very lewd look but on Steve it was just curious.

Steve smiled faintly. "You always dress up like that just to go to bed?" he asked.

"Yes, she does," Bucky answered for me, draping an arm around my shoulders. "Aren't I lucky?" he asked, kissing my neck. I shivered and Steve shook his head.

"Going now."

"Good!" Bucky called after him laughingly.

"That was mean," I chided. "He'll be blushing for days."

"Nah. He'd be blushing for days if he hung around, though," Bucky disagreed, laying me back on the bed with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Oh?" I asked slyly, draping a leg over his hip. "Why's that?"

"Lemme show ya."


	46. Eve Curie

**Chapter 46: Eve Curie**

Two or three hundred years ago, the town we were going to in France might have been a major thoroughfare, going by the heavy, old stone buildings and the general old-world feel to it. But now it was a bombed-out disaster zone. Buildings that had lasted against time couldn't stand against mortars. Walls were tumbled down and some buildings had been completely demolished down to the foundation. Huge gouges from the tracks on a tank tore up the dirt pathways and cobblestones.

The few large buildings that had survived the fighting were packed to capacity with survivors. Tents had been set up by relief agencies. The Red Cross was in attendance with medics rushing around everywhere. Some of the women's medical forces from the Free French Forces had apparently been dispatched as well. A few war reporters walked around as well with cameras, notepads, and grim expressions.

We were there less for medical aid and more for search and rescue. My nose, Yori's ears, Steve's senses and strength, as well as the man power provided by the others, made us ideal for hunting for survivors in the rubble and extricating them.

"You are the team from the SSR?" asked a woman with a French accent. She was lovely, with dark hair pulled back, wisps escaping, and a long, straight, sharp nose. I tilted my head, she looked vaguely familiar…

"Yes, we are, ma'am," Steve said, stepping forwards and offering her his hand to shake. She looked him up and down, then glanced at the rest of us, her eyes lingering for a particularly long time on Yori and I, probably not only because we were women and clearly armed for combat but because Yori was wrapped up in her coat, gloves, hat, and mask once more.

"Then god help us, they sent us a circus," she replied simply. "And it's Eve. Eve Curie."

I gasped aloud. That explained it, why she looked familiar. "You… are Madam Curie's daughter."

Eve raised an eyebrow and glanced at me, smiling faintly. "Of course, everyone knows my mother's work."

"It's not so much that," I admitted a bit sheepishly, moving forward. "Your biography of your mother… it was one of the things that inspired me to pursue a degree in science in spite of my gender."

Eve's face softened slightly. "I'm glad to have made an impression."

"Aside from being brilliant with a knife, Josie also has a doctorate," Bucky said proudly. I smiled at him shyly, a little embarrassed to be around a woman I'd admired for so long.

Eve examined us knowingly. "I see." She turned and gestured for us to follow her. She escorted us through the rubble. All around me I could see restoration and reclamation being done as those who were still fit worked to clear roads for supply trucks to get through. Past that, people moved through the broken buildings carefully, calling out for survivors and working to move rubble and clear bodies. A pair of men with tears silently sliding down their faces carried a stretcher covered in a sheet past us. Going by the size of the lump, it was a child under there.

"We haven't gotten past this point in our grid searches," Eve said, stopping and pointing down the street. "When we first arrived, after the Germans pulled out, people were sent out for a cursory scan to find wounded and bring them for treatment as well as start clearing rubble and looking for survivors. The more in-depth searches haven't moved past here yet. We're trying to be careful not to miss anything, even someone past saving, but the concern is that we're leaving people who need help out there." Eve waved her hand at the section of the city they'd yet to thoroughly comb. "We only have so many people, you see."

"We'll get right to work, ma'am," Steve assured her.

"Good," Eve nodded approvingly, and left us to get to it as Steve gathered us around him to give out assignments.

"Bucky, you and I will head down this street. Dernier, you take Falsworth down there. Jones, you and Morita head that way. Dugan, you and Josie head down there, and Yori, I want you in the air getting a bird's eye view. Tell us if you see anything."

Yori asked, "Are you sure that's wise, here with so many witnesses?"

"Stay high and they won't see you as anything more than a bird," Steve advised. Yori nodded and stripped off her coat, handing it to me. I took it and pulled it on as she took off, quickly gaining altitude.

"I'll take good care of her," Dugan promised Bucky, patting me on the shoulder. I shrugged his hand off and patted him on the shoulder, looking at Steve.

"I'll take good care of him," I promised, and the others laughed as we broke.

It wasn't easy going. We would shout for survivors and then wait to hear anything back, my ears pricked. I could hear the others doing the same as we spread through the streets. Crumbled walls blocked the going sometimes and we had to shift rocks aside to be able to get past. Occasionally we saw puddles of blood from the wounded or dead who'd been gathered in the first wave of searching.

"You hearing anyone?" Dugan asked as we turned a corner. I pricked my ears, shaking my head.

"No, I-"

"-dez…"

I straightened up and tensed, waiting for the faint noise to come again. Dugan stiffened as well, knowing I'd heard something.

"Aidez-moi…"

My heart lurched as I realized it was coming from under a caved-in roof two houses down. I pointed and Dugan and I both sprinted to the door, or where it used to be. It had been blown into the street. Carefully, we picked our way inside, looking for signs of whoever was calling and hoping beyond hope that we weren't stepping on them under who knew how much debris.

"Où es-tu?" I called out, and motioned for Dugan to stay in place.

"I-ici… s'il vous plaît…"

I whipped around. There was a chimney with some wall still standing around it in the corner, but there was a lot of rubble gathered up against it. I pointed and Dugan and I picked our way over. We got to work digging through the boards and rocks as we tried to get at the base of the chimney. I pulled a board back and peered through the gap. I could see an old woman curled in the chimney, shaking and crying.

"I see her," I called to Dugan. The woman blinked in the daylight and looked up, an expression of hope crossing her face and lighting her features. She reached out and I slid my arm through the hole, taking her hand and squeezing comfortingly.

It took about five minutes to get enough of the rubble cleared away. We had to be careful not to shift it too much and bring the rest of the chimney down on top of the old woman. When she was free she flew at me, hugging me tightly and sobbing.

"Merci… merci…"

I smiled at her kindly and gestured towards Dugan. "Carry her," I requested. The woman seemed shaky to begin with, not even considering what had happened to her. "Allons-y," I said to the woman. Dugan carefully picked her up and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for the manhandling, ma'am," he said, before he began to make his way out of the house and back towards the areas of town where the survivors had set up.

I followed more slowly, still listening carefully for any sign of any survivors. I could hear the others calling out in their own searches but nothing else aside from the moving in the rubble. It sounded like Dernier had found someone, he was talking soothingly in French. I could hear Jones talking to someone supportively as well.

"We'll get you out, hold on."

"You're safe now, monsieur."

"Is anyone there?"

"Can you make a noise to help us find you?"

Somewhere, a baby was crying.

"We're going to get you help."

"You're almost out now, hold on."

I jerked as I fixed on the sound of a crying baby. It took me a second to get a fix on the sound, but I soon found it. I shot off down the street, running as fast as I could. Movement made me look up and I realized Yori must have heard it too. She landed in front of me and wordlessly joined my sprint.

We swung around a house and into an alleyway. It was still open, the buildings in this area seeming to have weathered a little better. We peered around the alley, listening for the source of the wailing. I frowned. Something about it sounded off, almost metallic.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Yori uncertainly. "Like it's in…" A dull glint caught my eye. There was a garbage can at the end of the alley with a lid on it. My heart dropped as my anger rose. "Oh dear god no," I breathed as Yori and I raced towards the garbage can and the sound of the baby crying.

I ripped the lid off and Yori plunged her arms inside. Almost immediately she lifted out a squealing, naked baby girl. She smelled and had a banana peel hanging off her foot. Furious at whoever would do this to a child, I pulled the banana peel off and furiously kicked the trashcan, sending it rolling down the alleyway and out into the street, spilling trash everywhere.

"Don't upset her!" Yori scolded as the baby cried louder at the _bang_. Chastened, I crept closer. I pulled Yori's coat off and draped it over her shoulders in case one of the other searchers joined us. She was looking down at the baby tenderly.

"Sakura sakura," she sang. "Hana zakari…"

The song wasn't really a lullaby but the way Yori sang it made it so. The baby began to quiet and stop her squirming, relaxing a little in Yori's arms. Slowly, her screwed up face loosened a little. She blinked her eyes open and Yori gasped.

At first, I thought the baby was blind. Her eyes looked oddly foggy, the iris nearly indistinguishable from the white and the pupil more silver than black. I reached out a finger to her curiously, trying to see if she would track it with her eyes. She did, gurgling and reaching out to grasp my finger in hers, her grip surprisingly firm.

I tugged my finger back in surprise and showed it to Yori. Ice crystals melted on my fingertip as we watched. Looking closer, I noticed a faint fuzz of white hair beginning on the baby's head.

"She's like us," Yori said, and she was trembling in her rage. "They left her here… in the garbage… because she's like us…"

This was striking a little too close to home for Yori, who had been abandoned herself by her own parents because of who and what she was. She clutched the baby girl to her tightly, her posture blatantly defensive.

"We need to get her looked at," I reminded Yori gently. "We can't just stay here."

We turned around and were greeted by a camera flash. A reporter stood at the end of the alleyway with his camera raised, staring at us in awe.

"You're with the SSR, right?" he asked eagerly, ignoring the girl in Yori's arms as she squirmed and rubbed her eyes, mewling in protest at the light. "Tell me, you women are the medics for the team, right? You patch them up once they get out of the thick of it?"

Yori wasn't having him and I noticed her hand faintly beginning to glow.

"No comment," I told the man coldly, shoving past him and urging Yori along. She kept her head low to hide her mask and try not to look as strange. The reporter was determined though. He raced after us.

"You in the hat, why do you wear the mask? Were you disfigured? Is that why you fight?"

Yori looked like she was about to turn around the rip the man's throat out, so I took the liberty of scaring him off before she could. I drew my sidearm and leveled it at his head. He paled and shook.

"No. Comment," I growled. He nodded frantically and backpedalled, peeling off down a side street.

"Thank you," Yori said, her voice shaking with suppressed emotion. "I'd really hate to have to kill someone in front of a baby."

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her through town towards the medical tents. Once people saw us they assumed Yori was a victimized mother I was escorting to the makeshift hospital and cleared the way for us. It was Eve who recognized us and ushered us towards a screened-off bed in a tent. Yori sat down, still rocking the infant and cooing to her.

"Where did you find her?" Eve asked worriedly, looking uncertain about taking the baby away from Yori. I didn't blame her, the mask was off-putting.

"In a god damn _trash can_ ," Yori snarled. Eve's eyes hardened in anger and she stretched out her hands.

"Let me have her," she requested. Yori shook her head and held the baby closer protectively. Eve huffed. "I understand you want to take care of her but she needs to be looked at by a professional, alright? There are more people out there that need you and this baby will be here when you come back."

Yori was visibly reluctant but she handed over the baby. "If she freezes something and you hurt her for it," Yori said, standing up. She raised her mask, revealing her mask and baring her canines in a snarl, "I will kill you."

"Yori!" I hissed, a little embarrassed even though I understood where she was coming from. To her credit, Eve only paled a little at the sight of Yori and then set her jaw.

"If I hurt a baby, you have my permission."

Yori still didn't look pleased to be leaving the baby behind but she also seemed to respect Eve a little more after that statement. She nodded to the woman as we headed back out to search.

Yori took to the skies again and I met Dugan back near where we'd split with the old woman. I explained to him about the baby and he was outraged as well. Together we combed through the streets as the day began to grow long. We didn't find any more survivors but we found several bodies that we made a note of for the men with stretchers to come and reclaim, throwing tattered curtains or bed sheets over them to keep the carrion birds off.

When darkness fell we headed back to our little fortress in the middle of the ruin. I wasn't surprised to see that the others were making their way back, discussing who they'd found. Yori landed silently next to me and took her coat back again, tugging it on and hustling on ahead of everything.

"What's her hurry?" Steve asked in surprise as Yori hustled towards the medic tent.

"Something happen?" Bucky asked, draping an arm over my shoulder. He was dirty and sweaty but I was too. I didn't protest the gesture as I answered,

"Yori and I found a baby."

"Thank god you found her, who knows how long she's been alone in this mess," Falsworth congratulated.

"Yes, well, I can understand why no one would think to look for a baby in a trash can," I said, voice shaking with rage. An unwilling growl began to brew in my chest. "She's like us," I added to Steve. "Considering Yori was also abandoned… it hit a little close to home."

"Christ," Steve cursed. "No wonder…"

Eve saw us coming and hustled over to us. "I see Yori didn't kill you," I observed weakly as she greeted us. Eve smiled faintly.

"No, she didn't," she agreed. "She's holding onto that infant like it's the last lifeboat on the _Titanic_ , however."

I bit my lip. "You understand… Yori may want to keep the child. I don't know for sure. But she and I… we understand that child like no one else is going to," I said delicately. Eve looked me over speculatively.

"You too? Then I don't think there's anyone else better suited to take the child, honestly. She seems healthy, which is a surprise considering how long she must have been there."

"You don't have a problem with them taking a French child out of France?" Steve confirmed. Eve looked at him.

"According to the Vichy, I'm not French either, so why should I care?" she asked lightly. She turned around, thrust her fingers in her mouth, and gave a piercing whistle. Two men hurried over to us. "You, fetch the other woman and the baby from the medical tent, then bring her to where we've set up for them." She nodded to the second as the first hustled off to follow her orders. "You, escort them to where they'll be staying for the night, got it?"

"Come along," the man invited us, gesturing for us to follow him.

"Thank you for understanding," I said to Eve earnestly. She grinned.

"Are you kidding me? For once I know something about science that my siblings don't."

* * *

 **Aidez-moi – Help me**

 **Où es-tu? – Where are you?**

 **Ici- here**

 **S'il vous plaît – please**

 **EVE CURIE:**

 **A note about my inclusion of Eve Curie. She is a real person, she's really the daughter of Marie Curie, and she really did write a biography about her mother and fight in the Free French Forces. Several parts of this story have been inspired by stories from my great-great aunt and uncle. My uncle fought in France in WW2 and when he worked as an attaché to the embassy in Greece in the 60s, he and his wife met Eve Curie, then Eve Labouisse, the ambassador's wife.**

 **She made a splash when she arrived. The previous ambassador's wife – who my aunt DID NOT like at all – had decorated the ambassador's residence in French artwork. Eve took one look at the art work and decided that it had no place there in the** _ **American**_ **ambassador's residence. She had all the pictures replaced with those by American artists. In addition, during formal dinners when she and her husband had to sit on opposite ends of an incredibly long table, she would put her fingers in her mouth and whistle when she wanted his attention. That little whistle she gives is in homage to that.**

 **One day when they were in Greece, my aunt rode on the back of my uncle's motorcycle while they toured. It was what the Greek women did but it would have been kind of unseemly for them to do at the time. Anyway, they saw a car with embassy plates on the road pass them and when they got to Knossos at Crete, they realized it was the ambassador and his wife.**

 **The tour guide who was showing them around was apparently being very obnoxious. He kept drawing attention to the fact that he was showing around the ambassador and his wife. It made Eve very uncomfortable, so she asked my aunt and uncle and the other couple they were there with who also worked at the embassy to join their group to take some of the pressure off. There were several other places they went that day where the Labouisses visited as well and they ended up joining their group quite a bit.**

 **The next day, my aunt and her friend were invited to lunch at the ambassador's residence by Eve. Apparently, she'd seen my aunt riding on the back of my uncle's motorcycle and thought it was great. When she was in the French Resistance, she'd also ridden a motorcycle and was very jealous that my aunt got to ride. When my aunt and uncle left Greece, the Labouisses threw them a farewell party. They were the only people of lower rank that was done for, and the party was attended by people like the Greek president, a famous Greek general, and other dignitaries and military officers.**

 **Anyway, I just wouldn't have felt right if I didn't include a little bit about Eve in my story. She died at the age of 102 in NYC. I don't know much about what she got up to during the war years but my aunt was very fond of her and she's always sounded like a fascinating woman from my aunt's stories. From what I was able to figure out she would have been serving as in the women's medical corps of the Free French during this time although I have no idea where in Europe she would have been.**

 **Anyway, that's been my rant and I hope you enjoyed it. I know I always like knowing a little bit about the behind-the-scenes of the stories I read.**


	47. Gwen

Chapter 47: Gwen

The place they had for us was apparently an inn that was mostly still standing. The man who owned it and his wife welcomed us with open arms despite the oddness of our group and fixed us a fabulous dinner. They gave us the best rooms they had and overall just made us feel as comfortable as possible.

After dinner, some of us rested in the lounge. Falsworth and Morita sat by the fire, sharing a bottle of French alcohol with Dugan in a cushy chair. Bucky and I had stolen on couch. I leaned against his side, staring into the fire. Steve had taken the other with Yori, who had the baby in her arms still.

I smiled slightly. Yori had taken her disguise off and her sword was leaning against the edge of the couch by Steve's shield, the image of the sword and shield together poignant in a way. Now she held the baby girl close to her, humming and cooing to her soothingly, occasionally singing random lines of songs and rocking her. The baby had long-since fallen asleep in Yori's arms, full of milk helpfully provided by the innkeeper's wife.

"Are you going to keep her?" Falsworth pointed out, nodding to the baby.

Yori didn't look up from the little girl. She nodded and I wasn't even remotely surprised.

"Really?" Jones asked a little skeptically. "I mean, no offense, but what do you know about babies?"

"More than you'd think," Yori replied, shooting him a less-than-amused look. He held up his hands innocently.

"She'll need a name," Bucky reasoned, absently stroking my hand as well all got involved in the conversation.

"You going to give her as Japanese name?" Dugan asked curiously.

Yori chuckled a little at that. "Probably, but I think she should have a French name. She _is_ French, after all." She looked up at us, inviting us to spitball names.

"Hélène?" Dugan suggested. "I knew a girl named that once." He whistled.

"Perhaps not then," Yori said drily.

"Alphonsine?" Morita suggested innocently. Yori kicked him in the shoulder gently.

"You are not cute," she rebuked.

"Violette?" Falsworth offered. "That sounds nice and French."

"Pascale," Bucky countered.

Yori wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure that's not a man's name?"

Bucky shrugged. "Damned if I know, I saw it on a sign out there."

"Joséphe," Jones called.

"We already have one of those, thanks," I huffed, pretending to be offended. "That's my name and she can't have it."

"I chose my own name," Yori recalled.

"Did you really?" Steve asked curiously. "Why'd you pick that one?"

"Because it was what I wanted to be," Yori replied mysteriously. "I'd give her the same option but I'd rather her not grow up thinking her name is akago. Infant."

"Okay, how about Natalie?" Morita suggested.

Bucky shook his head. "Nuh uh. I've known a lot of Natalies. Natalies and I don't get along."

"Rosine," Dugan suggested with a roll. Yori shook his head.

"I don't like naming girls after flowers," she countered.

"That song you always sing," Steve recalled. "What is it… Sakura? Is that a name?"

Yori blinked. "I… It is. It means cherry blossom though. I didn't realize you'd noticed," she muttered. "But no, Sakura doesn't fit her."

"Cassandra," Falsworth offered.

I shook my head. "Bad name. She was a prophet the god's cursed so that no one believed her. Not a good legacy," I advised.

"You could just call her Winter and be done with it," Dugan pointed out. Yori huffed.

"That shows a startling lack of imagination. I might as well just call her Yuki."

"Snow," I translated for the benefit of everyone else.

"Guinevere," Steve said suddenly. We all looked to him in surprise. He shrugged. "I just remembered heating that it meant something along the lines of 'white' once. That's appropriate for a baby that makes frost and cold, right? And I'm pretty sure it's French."

"Guinevere," Yori contemplated, peering down at the baby. The little girl woke and laughed happily, grabbing a lock of Yori's hair and waving it in her fists. We all laughed at that as Yori looked to Steve ruefully.

"Perhaps she will choose her own name after all. I believe she likes it," Yori chuckled as the baby girl began to frost her hair. Slowly Yori pulled her hair out of the girl's grasp and the ice melted. "Hello, little Guinevere," she cooed, and the baby laughed happily, waving her fists.

"Can I hold her?" I asked hopefully. Yori nodded and I got up, walking over to Yori. I claimed the bundle of blankets and returned to my seat next to Bucky. I held her securely in my arms and bobbed her gently. Guinevere hummed happily and gurgled. Bucky offered her a finger and laughed in delight when she grabbed it.

"She's so small," Bucky said in awe. I looked up at him. He was staring down at the baby in some kind of soft wonder. I wondered if that's what he would look like holding our own child. God, I wanted to build a life with this man, have children and raise them with him.

"You want to hold her?" I offered gently. Bucky nodded and slowly reached out for her, like he was afraid any sudden movement would startle her.

"Watch her head," I reminded him as I shifted her to his arms. Bucky took her and bounced a bit like he'd seen me do. Guinevere gurgled happily as she was bounced and Bucky laughed lightly.

"Ya know, I never really thought I'd be good with kids, but this isn't so hard," he mused.

"Wait until you have to change a diaper," Falsworth warned, drawing a round of laughs.

"You want one, make your own," Yori huffed. "Quit hoarding mine."

"They've been trying," Dugan muttered, drawing another, louder round of laughter from the men. I flushed slightly and Bucky glared half-heartedly as he continued to bounce Guinevere. He offered her a finger and she took it, shaking it happily.

Nevade had once said to me that there was nothing sexier than a man who was good with a baby. At the time I'd been young enough that I just stuck out my tongue and didn't understand. From a biological standpoint I knew it was meant to mean that the man would hang around and raise offspring well. Now I understood – for whatever reason, Bucky looked much more attractive than usual with Guinevere in his arms.

He looked at me and announced, "I want at least two."

I snorted as the others laughed. "We'll see," I said leadingly.

Yori made an angry noise. "Steve, get Guinevere back from your friend," she ordered. "I think he may try and steal her."

"Why me?" Steve asked in amusement.

"He's _your_ friend," she replied. Again laughter rippled around the room as Steve stood up and approached, looming threateningly.

"Alright, hand over Gwen and no one gets hurt," he joked. Tenderly, he took Guinevere from Bucky's arms and carried her back over to the couch towards Yori. I saw Yori look up at him and I saw the expression in her eyes and understood that she was figuring out what I'd just realized about men with babies. As Steve passed Guinevere over, I saw with a flash what could have been if perhaps Steve had met Yori before Peggy.

I shook my head to get that thought out as Yori shifted so that Guinevere's head was against her shoulder and softly began to sing the song about cherry blossoms. I was surprised when I realized Steve was humming along.

* * *

"She's an angel," Peggy cooed.

"She's gonna be a force," Howard put in.

"She's a baby in a military base," Phillips stressed. He didn't seem to be able to get past that.

"Look at that face!" Howard said, pointing to Guinevere sternly. The baby giggled happily and grabbed his finger. "How can you say no to that face? Ah, cold!" He pulled back his icy finger and waved it until the ice melted. He looked at Guinevere and laughed. "I like this kid!"

"Can I hold her?" Peggy pleaded. Yori passed her over. She and Steve had been the one to bring the baby in to Phillips to get approval to keep her there while the others went to clean up. Peggy and Howard had simply seen them with the baby and tagged along. 'Get approval' was rather strong, actually, considering that Yori fully intended to keep Guinevere no matter what Phillips said.

"Just watch her head," Yori warned as she passed the baby to Peggy. Peggy nodded and began to coo as she held Guinevere, rocking her on her hip gently.

"Hello, sweetheart," Peggy murmured sweetly. "Hello, darling." Guinevere gurgled in reply and kicked gently.

"She likes you," Steve observed. Yori glanced at him and quickly looked away as her heart throbbed. Steve's expression was so soft and so caring it wasn't hard to figure out that he was imagining Peggy holding their child in her arms. That hurt more than she cared to admit.

Howard moved behind Peggy, popping out from behind her shoulder and waving his fingers at Guinevere before diving back behind her shoulder. "Peekaboo!" He popped back out and then hid again. "Peekaboo!" He popped back out and hid. "Aw, look who doesn't understand object permanence yet!" he grinned as he poked his head over Peggy's shoulder again. Guinevere smiled happily and stretched out her hands towards Howard.

"I believe she's entertained," Peggy said, hanging Guinevere over to Howard, who took her eagerly.

"What can I say, I have that affect on the ladies," he said smugly, offering Guinevere the end of his tie. She took it and began to gum on it. Howard winced. "That's Italian… Clearly, we're going to need to work on her fashion sense."

"Yeah, okay, she's cute," Phillips huffed. "But we can't have a baby in a secret military base!"

"Is there a law?" Yori asked simply.

"Well no, but…"

"Then there's no problem," she said firmly.

"Come on, Phil, have a heart," Howard whined, pulling his tie out of Guinevere's mouth and making a face at the soggy end.

"Don't call me that unless you want to be placed under military arrest," Phillips said darkly.

"Well seeing as Yori is the one who brought her here and Yori is completely willing to take care of her by herself I see no reason why she shouldn't be allowed," Peggy reasoned.

"She's a _baby_ ," Phillips stressed. "In a _secret government facility."_

"Didn't we just do this?" Howard muttered as he bobbed Guinevere.

"And there's no law against it, we just established that," Yori countered.

"There shouldn't have to be!" Phillips burst out.

Unsurprisingly, in the end he was worn down by Yori's threats, Peggy's reasoning, Steve's support, and Howard's blatant disregard for orders. Guinevere stayed and quickly became famous in the bunker. Everyone thought she was completely adorable and the secretaries fawned over her even when she was in Yori's arms. There were no shortage of offers to babysit and Yori was content to have Guinevere in her life.


	48. Loss

Chapter 48: Loss

Christmas of '44 was a little different from last year. Oh, Howard held a Christmas party, we just weren't there for it. We ended up being sent out on information we'd received. According to intelligence, Arnim Zola was going to be taking a train through the mountains and we'd gotten the information early enough that we had a chance to intercept, which was a better chance than any we'd yet had to get at the Red Skull's right hand man.

Somehow, Phillips became the de facto babysitter for Guinevere when we were gone. Yori said it was because she trusted the soldier to keep her safe, which made me laugh and made Phillips look oddly flattered. Whenever we went out on missions he ended up being the one who took care of Guinevere and I was told it caused no end of hilarity around the base to see him carting around a baby in the middle of a meeting with other officers.

We left Guinevere with him and set out two days before Christmas, travelling by a combination of truck and plane into the mountains. It was freezing the higher and higher we went despite our many layers but we pushed on until we got to the point we planned to set up our ambush. We'd picked a small, rocky outcropping across the ravine from the train tracks. There was little shelter from the snow and wind here and only just enough room for all of us to be up there at the same time.

"The train should be here in about half an hour," Steve said, glancing at the sun in the sky to get a guess at the time. "Set up."

Morita and Jones crouched down in the snow and began to unpack a HYDRA radio we'd captured and get it up and running to listen in on the communications going to and from the train. With HYDRA's frequency we'd be able to pick up on anything they said. Jones listened as Morita fiddled with the knobs, trying to get it calibrated correctly.

Yori flared her wings once or twice to try and get some blood circulating, making a face. "I hate the cold," she muttered as she stomped her feet.

"Yori, I want you to fly over to that ledge," Steve said, pointing to spot across the ravine that still was above the train track but had enough cover that she wouldn't be seen. "But first, attach the rope down there by the tracks. When we come in, I want you to swoop down and join us."

"Hai," Yori bit out. She took the rope and leaped over the edge of the outcropping, dropping like a stone. A few moments later she surged up past us and flew over to land on the other side where Steve had requested she be. I watched as she crouched by the tracks and used her glowing hand to melt a deep hole in the ice. She slid the rope into place and the water quickly refroze, anchoring it. Job done, Yori swooped up to the spot Steve had given her.

"It always gives me a heart attack when she does that," Steve muttered.

Falsworth was on watch, binoculars pressed to his eyes as he watched the bend in the tracks where the train would appear from behind another mountain.

"You remember when I made you ride the Cyclone on Coney Island?" Bucky asked randomly, staring down the line towards the train tracks.

"And I threw up?" Steve confirmed.

"Yeah. This isn't payback, is it?"

Steve grinned and looked up the length of the rope. "Why would I do that?"

Jones waved a hand to get our attention. He called out, "Sounds like we were right. Dr. Zola's on the train. HYDRA dispatch just gave them permission to open the throttle. Wherever they're going they must need him bad."

Dernier pulled out the gliding rigs from a bag and began to hand them out as Steve put on his helmet. Bucky took one and passed another to me. I took it and fiddled with the pulley to make sure it was secure. Bucky wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest, planting a firm kiss on my lips.

"What was that for?" I asked, breathless, when he released me.

"Just because you look pretty with snow in your hair," Bucky murmured in my ear.

"Guys, really?" Steve asked, looking at us pointedly.

Falsworth pulled the binoculars down from his eyes. "You'd better go fast because they're moving like the devil," he warned.

"We've only got about a ten second window!" Steve called as he attached his rig to the line. "You miss that window… we're bugs on a windshield."

"Mind the gap," Falsworth said with grim humor.

"Better get moving, bugs!" Dugan called.

"Now!" Dernier called, and Steve went. Bucky slung his rig up onto the line as Yori jumped from her perch and began to swoop towards the train. "Now!" Bucky went sailing down the line after Steve as I attached my rig to the line. "Now!"

I kicked off and I was flying after all of them towards the train. Steve landed first and Bucky dropped onto the car behind him. I was on the car behind Bucky. Yori dropped down next to me. An updraft caught her wings and nearly pulled her off balance. I grabbed her wrist and she seized mine, keeping each other stable for a moment while Yori got her wings folded.

"Come on!" I called, and we bent low to try and reduce the wind's pull, following Steve and Bucky along the top of the train over to a ladder that wrapped around the side of the train. Yori was the lookout. She remained up top, crouched by the ladder as Steve, Bucky, and I slid over the side and into the train. I slid the door shut behind us.

We were in a cargo car. The whole place was metal and lined down the middle with shelving that held crates and cases containing what was presumably HYDRA weaponry. More crates and shelves lined the outer walls of the car.

Steve crept up one side of the car, Bucky and I up the other. Bucky led the way with his rifle. Steve paused by the open door to the next car, looking back at us. He nodded and then made his way forward into the next car. Bucky and I started forward after him.

I smelled the person before I heard the doors closing. "Trap!" I yelled, but it was too late. The door between the cars slammed shut, separating Bucky and I from Steve. I ducked and Bucky shot over my head. I shot my phalanges out as well before Bucky grabbed me and tugged me behind a case for cover. Bullets hit the walls of the car over our head.

"Isn't this just our luck?" Bucky muttered as the bullets rattle. I nodded and kicked off the wall, shooting myself over behind a crate on the other side of the train as Bucky stood up to return fire as a distraction. Thankfully, the man who was firing on us didn't notice me. Bucky dropped back as the HYDRA soldier fired a volley, coming up the aisle closer to me. I forced a knife from my palm and pull my gun free, tense and waiting for him to get close enough.

Bucky pulled his sidearm and fired three times, giving himself cover to dart over to join me on the other side. I stayed crouched while he stood up, the solid presence of his legs against my side comforting as we both fired from behind the case. We ducked back as the HYDRA soldier fired on us.

Bucky cursed as his gun clicked. He was out of bullets and, with one last round fired, so was I. I had my bones and my teeth but Bucky was up the creek without a paddle.

The door behind us swung open and I whipped around, ready to tear into whatever HYDRA soldier had decided to join the fight. Instead it was Steve, holding his sidearm by the barrel. Bucky dropped his gun and caught the one Steve tossed him as he charged out. Steve shield-slammed one of the cases, sending it sliding along the shelf and forcing the HYDRA soldier to duck out of the way. Bucky stood up sharply and I thrust a hand out, firing on him now that he was exposed. He dropped like a stone, dead.

Slowly, we all loosened a little. Steve and I straightened up and Bucky stepped out from behind the crate.

"I had him on the ropes," Bucky said, staring down at the man with Steve.

The sound of something charging up make us all whip around. A hulking HYDRA soldier stood in the doorway with some sort of gigantic weapon, a barrel glowing blue tucked under each arm.

"Get down!" Steve yelled and shoved Bucky behind him, raising his shield. I threw myself back into the corner, bracing against the wall of the car as the blast went off. It glanced off Steve's shield and hit the side of the train, blowing it open with a burst of fire and blue energy. The blast knocked Steve off his feet and the jerk to the side of the train knocked me off balance.

Bucky was the only one still close to stable. He seized Steve's shield and raised it before him, a determined glint in his eye as he fired on the man with the double-barreled weapon. Something about seeing him like that, bravely facing the man down, made both pride and fear circle in the pit of my stomach. My blood felt slow and sluggish and I knew that something bad was about to happen.

The next blast caught the shield and Bucky didn't have the strength Steve did, to hold it against a strike. The shield went one way and Bucky went another. The shield landed safely inside the train car, and Bucky flew out.

"No!" I screamed and ran for the hole. Steve seized his shield and hurled it at the man, knocking him down.

"I've got longer arms," Steve said, and pulled me back. I was only conscious I was crying because I could feel the tears freezing on my cheeks as the wind roared past us. Steve stretched as far as he could towards Bucky, clinging for dear life onto a battered bit of rail on the blown-out side of the train.

"Bucky!" Steve yelled as he began to climb out onto the side of the train. "Hang on!" Bucky's hand slipped as he tried to move closer to Steve and I saw the fear on his face, in his eyes, in every line of him like I'd never seen before. I'd never been very religious but I prayed at that moment to anyone who would listen, begging for Bucky to somehow, someway, survive this.

"Grab my hand!" Steve shouted, stretching the limb out. Bucky's hand reached for him wildly but they were too far away. The stretching and bouncing threatened the already tenuous hold the railing had on the side of the train. With a great squealing of metal, it and Bucky fell.

I would never forget the sound of his scream as he realized what was happening, that he wasn't going to come out of this one. I would never forget the sheer and utter terror in his eyes as he fell. I would never forget the way his arm stayed raised and stretched towards us as he plummeted, like he still believed one of us could be able to save him. And I would never forget the single word he screamed as he vanished into the ravine.

" _Belle!"_

Something inside me snapped and some part of me had the wild thought that if I could just get to him he would be okay. Without fear, without thinking about the pain or anything except _Bucky, have to get to Bucky_ I lunged for the hole in the train.

"Josie, no!" Steve's arms closed around me like a vice as he threw himself into the train.

"Get off me, Steve, get off!" I shrieked, clawing at him desperately as he pinned me to the ground with his weight. "I have to… I have to… I can… We can still save him!"

"It's too late..." Steve's voice was choked, but it wasn't that which brought me out of my spinning thoughts. It was the warm, wet spots that I felt fall onto my throat. Steve was crying, brave, fearless, perfect Steve was as broken as I was. If there was anything that could be done, Steve would have been doing it.

The sound that came out of me wasn't human, nor was it feline. It was somewhere in the middle, a wailing roar of grief and anger and sadness and lost love that ripped my throat. I could barely breathe as the tears rolled faster and faster down my cheeks. Instead of fighting to get loose from him I was clutching Steve like a lifeline, shuddering helplessly with the force of my sobs.

"H-He's gone…" Steve murmured into my neck. "He's _gone._ "

* * *

Josie didn't speak as they stopped the train and took Zola into custody. Josie didn't speak on the way back to London. Josie didn't speak when Peggy hugged her or when Howard kissed her cheeks, or when Phillips clapped her on the shoulder. She didn't speak when Steve looked at her helplessly before fleeing to his own room to deal with his grief and guilt.

Yori was left to watch Josie, who hadn't said a word. Ever since she'd been pulled off the train and her heart-wrenching sobs finally, finally stopped, she hadn't done much of anything, really. She walked on her own, and she followed where she was lead. She stared straight ahead, he face utterly slack and blank. But it was her eyes that made Yori's heart bleed. She said nothing but her eyes screamed her pain as much as if Josie had opened her mouth and really shrieked.

"Come on, tora," Yori said, wrapping her arm around Josie. She looked to Howard and mouthed, "Gwen." Howard was as pale and shaky-looking as if he'd actually been there. He didn't seem to know what to do with himself. He immediately nodded and rushed off to deal with his assigned task. As much as Yori wanted to go to Guinevere herself, she knew that Josie needed her more.

Josie walked, but there was no sign that she really registered where they were going at all as Yori guided her to the door of the room she shared with Bucky. Yori hesitated, but she didn't think that taking Josie to an empty room would be any better.

"To the shower," Yori urged her gently, pushing her into the room. "Then to bed."

Josie walked into the bathroom with Yori following. Yori waited, but Josie just stood there, staring blankly at the mirror and shuddering slightly every few minutes. Yori sighed and with a pained wince she began to carefully undress Josie, piling her clothes in the hamper. Yori got the temperature warm and, with a hand on her elbow, she guided Josie into the shower. Josie stood under the water, shuddering. It was only when she sniffled that Yori realized that Josie had begun to cry again, the tears mixing indistinguishably with the water running down her face.

Yori ended up shampooing Josie's hair for her and then working in conditioner. She soaped up a washcloth and scrubbed Josie all over before guiding her out of the shower and wrapping her in a towel. Yori sat her down on top of the toilet. Somehow it seemed almost sacrilegious to break Josie's silence with the sound of a blow dryer, so Yori began the lengthy process of toweling Josie's hair dry and combing it out.

"Let's get you into some pajamas, okay?" Yori said, gently picking Josie up and urging her out into the room. Everywhere there were signs of Bucky – one of his shirts tossed on the chair by the table, a pair of his shoes poking out from under the bed, and a picture of the two of them at Camp Lehigh framed and sitting against the lamp. In front of the picture were their pocket watches and Josie's ring and locket – things they treasured too much to take on missions with them.

"Can you get dressed on your own?" Yori asked her quietly.

Josie said nothing for the longest time, and Yori thought that was a no. She reached to pull the towel off of Josie when she dropped it herself and moved towards the closet. She pulled out a long satin nightgown in a dark reddish purple color with black lace. Yori winced, knowing the decision of that particular nightgown had been conscious. Josie had once mentioned that Bucky loved her in that one.

Once Josie had pulled on the nightgown she paused, like she didn't know what to do. Then, like a fish on a line, she drifted towards the table. She picked up Bucky's shirt and brought it to her face, inhaling deeply. It might have seemed like a strange thing to do if Yori hadn't understood how important scent was to Josie and how much she'd loved Bucky's sent. That breath of him seemed to bring a little bit of Josie back to life. She pulled the shirt on instead of a robe and moved towards the bed. She laid down under the covers and scooted towards the middle, one leg and an arm thrown over onto Bucky's side. If he had been there, she would have been wrapped around him.

Yori pressed a hand to her mouth as tears rolled down her own cheeks. She loved Josie so much but she could only imagine how the woman was feeling and she had no idea what to do here. She was lost and helpless. There was no one for her to punch but a man that she assumed she wouldn't be allowed anywhere near for his own safety.

Yori debated a hundred things that could possibly make Josie feel better. She could slide into bed with her and hold her. She could fetch Steve from his own grief to try and talk to her. Yori could sit down and sing until she fell asleep. She could haul Zola in here and throw his bloodied corpse at Josie's feet. She could go out and cut off the Red Skull's head. She could simply… let Josie grieve.

Grief was something Yori knew well. She'd lost a lot of people in her century of life and she knew that everyone dealt with it differently. It was simply finding out how they dealt with it.

"Josie," she asked simply, "what do you want from me?"

Silence reigned for several long minutes. Yori stood and waited patiently for her answer. Finally, Josie spoke her first words since Bucky had fallen.

"There's nothing anyone can do."

"Okay," Yori said respectfully. "Then I'll be back tomorrow with breakfast."


	49. Josie's Revenge

Chapter 49: Josie's Revenge

Josie didn't come out of her room for five days, and no one went in. When Yori brought her meals she simply called out Josie's name and left the tray by the door. None of them were ever eaten. For a normal person that would be a concern, but Josie could handle the lack of nutrients for a while.

Instead, Yori spent her time sitting behind the two-way mirror holding Guinevere and watching the tiny man, Arnim Zola, whose trap had cost her friend so much. She wished she could be allowed in with him but to be honest she had no idea what she would do. Beat him? Try and impress upon him what he had caused? Appeal to his humanity? Kill him? None of it sounded feasible.

Sometimes Phillips was there. Sometimes Howard was. Sometimes Peggy. Sometimes Steve. Sometimes a mixture. They were very careful to never leave her alone with him. They were all afraid she'd snap and murder him. They didn't realize that was why she brought Gwen – so she wouldn't.

They were all there the day the door opened and Josie stepped inside. She was still wearing that nightgown and Bucky's shirt, her feet bare. She had put on her ring and her locket. Her hair was wet from a shower. Yori thought that was a fairly good sign, all things considered.

"I need to see him," Josie said hoarsely.

"No," Phillips replied immediately. "With all due respect, we need him, and I don't trust you in there alone with him."

"I need to see him," Josie repeated hollowly. Steve moved forwards and placed his hands on her shoulders, crouching slightly so that he was looking her in the eye.

"I know it's killing you, Josie – it's killing me too - but nothing good can come of that," he tried to reason.

"I need to see him," Josie said, and Steve dropped his hands, looking to the rest of them helplessly.

"Josie, honey, I don't think that'll help anything," Howard said uncertainly, moving forwards. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her, but it was a shadow of his usual cocky grin.

"I need to see him."

Howard winced and backed away. Peggy stepped forwards and took Josie's hands between both of her own. She went in for the kill.

"Josie… would Bucky want you to do this?"

Josie flinched at the sound of Bucky's name but her face still showed no expression but for the pain in her eyes and when she opened her mouth it was the same thing again.

"I need to see him."

Yori was the only one left to appeal to and all eyes turned to her. Yori took a deep breath and passed Guinevere over to Steve, who took the little girl and held her tightly, like he drew comfort from her. Yori pulled out a drawer from under the control panel and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Slowly, she moved forward. Mechanically, Josie raised her arms. Yori clicked the handcuffs in place and then turned to Phillips.

"Take her in," Yori ordered, and it was an order. Ordinarily Phillips would have argued but he saw the look on Yori's face, the look on Josie's face, and he knew better than to say anything. He took Josie by the arm and walked her out the door and down the hall a few feet. He pushed open the door and walked her inside, sitting her down across the table from Zola, who watched them come in with surprise on his face. Phillips stood beside Josie, keeping strict watch.

"If it isn't the American's own snarling monster," Zola said. Josie blinked at him. He shifted. "Tell me, are you to be my cell mate? Have they finally decided to lock up the beast?"

Josie blinked. She said nothing. Zola shifted again, unnerved by the woman in front of him. He went in for the kill. Any reaction, even a violent one, would be better than her just sitting there and staring through him with those damned misty eyes. The colonel would not let harm come to him because of his brilliant mind, that Zola knew.

"Ah, I see. You were the woman who was to marry poor fallen Sergeant Barnes," he said slyly. "I suppose I should express my congratulations… and my condolences."

Josie opened her mouth. "Do you think," she asked, her voice a painful monotone to those who knew her, "that sitting there and mocking me is wise?"

"I have the colonel on my side!" Zola smiled, gesturing to Phillips, who snarled wordlessly in response to that. "My safety is important to your government because of my mind. Despite your desire for revenge, I am safe sitting across the table from you while you stew helplessly in your grief." He sat back smugly.

"You forget something," Josie said hollowly.

Zola scoffed. "And what's that?"

Josie's head snapped up as her fingers curled. Her eyes blazed as she growled, _"Me."_ A foot flew out, hurling her chair into Phillips and knocking him to the ground so that he couldn't stop her. The colonel fell with a shout and Josie launched herself across the table. She didn't need her hands, she had her teeth, teeth that sank into the skin of Zola's face with ease. He screamed in agony as she began to bite down, tearing her way through his flesh. Phillips seized her ankle, the only thing he could reach from the floor, and tugged with all his might.

"Medic!" he roared as he ripped Josie from Zola, her locked jaw ripping away most of his left cheek and part of his jaw. Zola screamed again, falling from his chair and bringing his hands up to clutch his ruined face in pain as Phillips pinned Josie to the ground.

She didn't fight him, she just lay there shuddering, blood dripping from the chunk of flesh in her mouth. Uncertain, Phillips got off of her. Josie got to her feet and spat out Zola's cheek. It hit the ground with a sickening squish. She didn't look at Zola again, she just opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Steve waited for her in the hallway. Yori, Howard, and Peggy lingered in the doorway of the observation room as Steve blocked Josie's access to the rest of the base, not sure what she was planning.

"Josie?" he asked uncertainly as she stopped in the middle of the hallway. Blood ran down her chin and puddled on the floor between her feet.

"No," Josie said, but it wasn't Josie.

"Tigress," Steve realized. Tigress nodded.

"Josie couldn't do it. She couldn't take any revenge, lost in her grief, so I did it for her. She was owed a pound of flesh, so I took it. Literally."

Most surprisingly was the agony in the voice of Josie's other side. Tigress seemed to feel the same grief over the loss of Bucky that Josie did, which was at the same time surprising and not.

"Tigress." Yori stepped into the hallway, staring at Josie's feral half.

"Thank you for taking care of Josie while she was keeping me suppressed," Tigress said to her. "Don't let Josie go after the Red Skull. She will want to. She will lose control. I will come out. I will kill and maim. Josie won't be able to handle that. Don't let her go."

With that Tigress slumped. She stood in the middle of the hall, her jaw still dripping blood, her hair hanging around her face. When she raised her face once more she was Josie again, agony in her eyes. For the first time it showed in her face as well. Steve moved forwards as Josie's knees buckled. He caught her, sliding down the wall with her half in his lap as the medic's rushed past to get to Zola.

"Shh, I know, I know," Steve murmured in her ear, tears running down his own cheeks as Josie wailed and sobbed in his arms. "Shh, I know, I know."

"I miss him!" she sobbed into his neck. "I miss him so much!"


	50. Belle No More

Chapter 50: Belle No More

It was the day the Howling Commandoes were to go after the Red Skull. I sat in the room I had shared with Bucky. I wanted desperately to go with them. I also knew I couldn't be trusted. I honestly didn't know what I would do and that scared me beyond belief. But I knew because of that I couldn't go on the raid with them.

Yori was kind enough to stay behind with me, but I'd sent her off to run communications with Peggy. I knew she needed to be involved and I knew I was dragging her down with me as well. I knew I needed to pull out of this and be strong for the sake of my friends, for Steve's sake, for Yori's, but for the life of me I didn't know how.

I sat on the edge of the bed I shared with Bucky. I was dressed for the first time in days, wearing a skirt and blazer. My shirt, however, was one of Bucky's. I'd fixed my hair. I'd put on makeup. I'd pulled on tights and shoes even though I knew I wasn't going to go anywhere because maybe if I looked presentable enough to face the world I'd actually go out and do it.

But then I saw the picture of Bucky on our nightstand and I couldn't do it. I sat down at stared at that picture and I began to relive our entire relationship. From meeting at Camp Lehigh to sitting under the tree together and talking while I was at lunch. I pulled out the bundle of his letters and read through them. I remembered finding him at the HYDRA facility and pulling him out. I remembered sparring in front of the men. I remembered the times we were out for breakfast, the times were slept together, every single blessed moment of our time together. It all ran through my head on a constant loop.

I looked up when the door opened. Yori was standing there and there was this expression on her face I'd never seen before. Like she couldn't understand what she'd seen. More alarmingly, tears were tracing down her cheeks with a rapidity I'd never seen before. She was trembling. Her tail trailed on the ground after her and her wings were slumped like a physical pall over her.

"Y-Yori?"

I hadn't spoken in days. My voice was scratchy. Yori looked at me nevertheless and the moment she did she snapped and let out her demonic shriek, collapsing to her knees.

" _Steve!"_ she wailed.

My own grief paled for the moment. Yori's was fresh and raw and real and it was what I needed to finally snap me out of my own little bubble of loss. I shot to Yori's side, kneeling next to her and kicking the door shut behind her. I knew she wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. I clutched her to me.

"His plane…" Yori sobbed. She knelt, her hands clutching her side. The force of her grief and her sobs had bowed her so that her forehead nearly touched the ground. "It went down… He's… He's _gone…"_

 _He's gone._

The words echoed in my head and suddenly I was in tears as well. He's gone, _they're_ gone. How could the world stand to lose so much goodness so close together as it had with Steve and Bucky gone? How could anyone smile when our lights were gone? How could anyone smile when our happiness had been stolen?

"Why does it hurt so much?" Yori moaned helplessly, clawing at her chest. "Why?"

"Because you loved him," I said, forcing out the words that no one had ever said. "You loved him."

"He… Peggy…" Yori tried to protest, but she could barely get words out, she was sobbing so hard.

"Damn Peggy. It doesn't mean what you felt for him was any less real," I whispered fiercely.

"Is this… is this what is feels like? Like there's a hole in your chest?"

I nodded because I had become oh so intimately familiar with that sensation over the past few days. It was like someone had ripped your heart out. It was pain, it was an emptiness that twinged occasionally, like an old wound. A fog descended over your mind and it was like you were walking through a dream, but not a good dream, a nightmare, and nothing was the way it should be.

"Yes," I whispered, and the word broke both of us. We clutched each other as we sobbed our broken hearts out on the floor and when we could no longer cry we clutched each other all the harder and simply shuddered, silent and broken.

In those moments of grief, as Yori's fog descended my own lifted. Bucky had taken a part of my heart with him when he fell down into the ravine but he hadn't taken all of it. My heart still beat and burned with love for others. Howard, my family. Yori and Peggy. The Commandoes and Phillips, little Guinevere. The loss of Bucky and Steve was not the loss of everyone and much as the thought of it hurt now I would move on and I would live and I would recover some of myself.

But not all of myself. I would never be Belle again.


	51. Epilogue

**Nearly 70 Years Later**

Steve was confused, lost, scared. In some of the buildings around him he recognized the shape of his New York but it was buried under flashing lights and advertisements and posters. The spirit of the place lingered in the people but they were not the people he knew. They had wild clothes and carried devices he'd never seen before and used words he didn't know. They drove cars the likes of which he had never considered. This was a New York seen through some sort of horrible nightmarish filter.

He turned, helpless, in the middle of what _should_ have been Times Square and it _was_ and it _wasn't._

Black cars pulled up around him and men in suits piled out, forcing back the curious crowd. A black man with an eye patch and a long leather coat stepped out. He was a fighter; Steve recognized the set of his shoulders and the look in his eyes.

"At ease, soldier," the man said, approaching him. "Sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you… slowly."

Steve's heart was racing like he was in a firefight but he was just facing down one man.

"Break what?" he asked, both terrified and desperate for the answer.

" _Fury!"_

The familiar voice made Steve whip around. Black, leathery wings flared as Yori dropped into the circle of men holding back the crowd. He noticed immediately that she was walking openly as he'd never seen her before, showing her face, her wings, her tail in a crowd of people. She wore baggy black cargo pants shoved into combat boots and a red top that showed her stomach. Over that was a black sleeveless coat that touched her ankles. Her sword was at her hip.

"Y-Yori?" Steve said, hating how helpless he sounded. Yori's face softened when she beheld him and hardened the moment her eyes flicked to the black man behind him.

"Fury," she said again coldly. "I told you that I didn't approve of your plan."

"With all due respect, _retired_ director," Fury replied coolly. "That's not your call anymore."

"Anything relating to Steve Rogers is my call," Yori said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Even if SHIELD doesn't think it is."

Steve clutched his head. "What's going on?" he demanded, completely lost. SHIELD? Director?

"Steve?" Yori moved forwards, her boots making heavy steps. She reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her other hand cupped his chin and made him look at her. "Your plane went into the ocean."

"I-I know," Steve stammered. "I remember that but after it's all… it's all blank until I woke up in that _room."_

"You were frozen," Yori said slowly. "You survived because of the serum. We only recently found you. Steve, we…" She blinked back tears as her eyes went misty. "We've been looking for you for nearly seventy years."

"Seventy… years?"

Much as he didn't want to believe it the evidence was blinking at him from the screens all around him, from the cars, the people, the devices in their hands, from every possible surface.

"Are you alright?" Yori asked him slowly. "Taichō?"

The title hit him like a punch in the gut. "Yeah," he breathed. "I just… I had a date."

He looked around at Fury in time to miss the pain that flashed across Yori's face at that. Seventy years, and not one bit of her feelings for him had gone. And those seventy years had been a moment for him. In his mind, he had only said his goodbyes to Peggy Carter a moment ago.

"Come on, Steve. I need to take you to see someone else," Yori said, pulling him away from the rest of the men. "She'll want to see you."

* * *

"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," Steve read as they drove up the long path leading to the manor house in upstate New York. It looked less like a place children would go to school and more like a place that would throw a gala.

"She's a teacher now," Yori explained as she parked in front of the building. She climbed out of the car and Steve followed her lead. Yori seemed completely comfortable as she walked up the stairs. Steve trailed after her uncertainly, not quite sure what was going on despite the fact that he now at least knew where – or rather _when_ – he was.

Yori pushed the door open and stepped inside. Steve followed her in and reared back as a _bamf_ and the smell of sulfur hit his nose. He gaped as a fuzzy blue man with a prehensile tail like Yori's and fangs appeared out of thin air.

"Mein Kolleginnen Dämon!" he exclaimed, embracing her. "It's been too long."

"Kurt," Yori greeted warmly, embracing him back. "It has been a while. Kurt, I'd like you to meet Steve Rogers. Steve, Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler."

"Steve…" Kurt's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh mein Gott!" And with another _bamf_ and whiff of sulfur he was gone.

"He's like you," Steve said slowly.

"Exactly. Xavier's School is a place for mutants to safely learn to how and when to use their abilities."

Steve looked up. On the landing above was a bald man with a rather large nose, sitting in a wheelchair.

"Charles," Yori greeted. "Steve, this is Charles Xavier, founder of the Xavier School and the X-men.

"X-men?" Steve repeated blankly. This was all too much at once.

" _Be calm, Steve Rogers. Much has happened to you but you must understand that you are not as helpless and alone as you feel. You have Yori… and you have another old friend."_

It was Xavier's voice, but he hadn't opened his mouth. Steve had heard his words in his mind. His mouth dropped open and he stared at the older man incredulously.

"Charles is a telepath," Yori explained, recognizing the look on his face. Xavier inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"She's upstairs in her office," Xavier said, before turning around and vanishing down a hallway.

"Come on," Yori said, moving toward the stairs and gesturing for Steve to follow her. Steve did so, still not sure of who they were going to see. He had his suspicions however. They were confirmed when they arrived at a door labeled _Dr. Josephine Ealum – Genetics, History, and Biology._

"She's a teacher," Steve said slowly. Somehow it fit, that Josie would have become a teacher in a place like this.

"Josie?" Yori called, knocking on the door.

"Ah, Yori? Come in!"

Yori pushed open the door and stepped inside. Steve followed her in and gasped.

Josie hadn't changed. She still wore pencils skirts and blazers. The chain of her mother's pocket watch was still draped across her front. Her locket still decorated her neck and her ring was on her finger. Her hair was in a low bun and her lips were slicked red.

Thank god. Something was still the same.

Josie looked up at the gasp and froze when she saw Steve standing in the doorway.

"S-Steve?" she said slowly, rising shakily.

"Yeah," Steve said, shifting uncertainly. "It's… it's me."

"I didn't… I don't…" She looked to Yori helplessly.

"We found him about four days ago. We weren't sure if he was still okay and if he'd wake up so we didn't want to tell you until we knew."

"I take it you know," Josie said faintly, stepping out from behind her desk. She approached Steve slowly and looked up at him. She reached up, touching his cheek. "Steve?"

"Josie," he greeted, smiling ever so slightly. Josie gave a delighted cry and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Steve wrapped his around her as well, burying his face in her shoulder. Over her he could see a wall of photographs.

There was Josie in her mother's arms, then her sitting with Nevade. Her standing beside Abraham Erskine. Her sitting at Camp Lehigh with Bucky, them dancing at the Christmas party. That same night, lifting Peggy aloft. A team picture all of the Howling Commandoes had taken and one that had been snapped of Yori and Josie looking up in surprise in the midst of cleaning guns. Josie standing by an older Howard and holding a baby in her arms, smiling down at him fondly. Josie sitting between a much younger Charles and a semi-familiar looking man with shark-like eyes. Josie standing by an altar with Yori, the pair of them watching fondly as a woman with white hair and a blue, furry beast of a man kissed. The white-haired woman was in the next picture as well, her arms wrapped around the waist of the same blue, hairy man. With a jolt, Steve realized it was little baby Guinevere all grown up. Josie with years and years worth of students.

There were over a hundred pictures. The wall was a monument to a life lived and lived well. Steve saw the decades he had missed in the clothes, the backgrounds, the faces of the people in those pictures. He saw Josie and Yori living and moving through those years he'd had slip through his fingers. Perhaps he hadn't seen them but he had two of the three women who had always had his back to walk him through those years.

Steve crushed Josie to him tighter.

"It's good to see you," he said, looking over at Yori so she knew he meant her too.

Yori smirked. "You took the easy way here, taichō. Didn't even have to witness disco."

Steve looked at her blankly as Josie pulled back and laughed. "What's disco?"

Yori winked and Josie patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry," she said comfortingly. "We'll explain."

* * *

 **People have been asking if I'm going to take this farther and originally I had planned to but the answer now is - no. I'm going to completely scrap this and start again. We'll still have Bucky and romance and mutants and lots of fluff and fight scenes, but I feel like I did Josie an injustice by not giving her time to develop as a character before adding in Bucky and I feel like Yori came out far more one-dimensional than she's meant to be. So give me a month, check back in, and hopefully I'll have up the first chapter of something new and even better!**


	52. Author's Note PLEASE READ

**The more and more I try to rewrite Josie's story the less content I am with it. I don't know, I just am suddenly not so fond of Josie as a character, and I think I did Yori a disservice with the way I characterized her and the fact that I brought her in later in the story. So instead of rewriting, I'm just scraping this. Don't worry, it'll still be up, and I may come back to it somewhere down the line, but I just don't have Yori and Josie in my head anymore.**

 **I don't want to leave the MCU yet though, and my love for Cap and Bucky will never die, trust me. So I'm writing a brand new story. It will hopefully be up on the website next Wednesday, so check in for that. I will try and keep to the same schedule of updating on Wednesdays for it but we're coming up into final projects and final prep territory for this semester, so that takes priority, but I will do the best I can.**

 **I hope I can interest you guys in something new and I hope you forgive me for putting Josie and Yori on a shelf for the time being. Some of you were off-put by having two OC main characters and I have to warn you, that will be the case in my next story as well, but I like to think I've done a little bit better job with them. I may pull some things from Only Forever into my new story, but I'll try to put a new spin on it.  
**

 **Sorry for leaving you hanging, but I hope you'll trust me enough to check out my newest story!**


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